■ 


UNFOLDING  AFRICA. 


UNFOLDING  AFRICA.* 


EIGHTH  ANNUAL  PAPER. 


Africa  retains  its  hold  as  the  chief  field  of  modern  exploration,, 
commercial  experiment,  and  philanthropic  and  religious  zeal.  En- 
lightened enterprise  is  penetrating  it  at  every  point.  Colonies  and 
trading  posts  are  springing  up  along  every  river,  valley,  and  port; 
steamships  are  running  far  inland  on  streams  and  lakes : railways  are 
building  in  various  sections,  and  almost  every  tribe  and  settlement 
are  being  connected  by  telegraph  with  Paris,  London,  and  New  York. 
Remembering  the  magical  rise  of  States  and  cities  in  North  America, 
it  is  not  difficult  to  foresee,  within  a century,  the  erection  of  capitals 
and  metropolitan  centres  throughout  the  African  Continent. 


Governmental  scramble  for  territory  having  apparently  ceased,, 
divisions  and  adjustments  of  possessions  and  sovereignty  are  now 
taking  place. 

The  British  Protectorate  of  the  Niger  districts  is  thus  officially 
proclaimed  under  date  of  the  Foreign  Office,  London,  October  18,. 
1887: — “It  is  hereby  notified  for  public  information  that,  under  and  by 
virtue  of  certain  Treaties  concluded  between  the  month  of  July,  1884, 
and  the  present  date,  and  by  other  lawful  means,  the  territories  in 
West  Africa,  hereinafter  referred  to  as  the  Niger  Districts,  are  under 
the  Protectorate  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen.  The  British  Protecto- 
rate of  the  Niger  Districts  comprises  the  territories  on  the  line  of 
coast  between  the  British  Protectorate  of  Lagos  and  the  right  or 
western  river  bank  of  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  del  Rey.  It  further  com- 
prises all  territories  in  the  basin  of  the  Niger  and  its  affluents,  which 
are,  or  may  be  for  the  time  being,  subject  to  the  government  of  the 


•Acknowledgment  is  thankfully  made  to  the  Missionary  Herald,  of  Boston,  the 
Missionary , of  Richmond,  Va„  and  the  African  Times , of  London,  for  matter  freely 
used  in  this  paper. 


GOVERNMENTAL. 


2 


GOVERNMENTAL. 


National  African  Company,  Limited,  (now  called  the  Royal  Niger 
Company),  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  Charter  of  the 
said  Company,  dated  the  ioth  July,  1886.  The  measures  in  course  of 
preparation  for  the  administration  of  justice,  and  the  maintenance  of 
peace  aud  good  order  in  the  Niger  Districts,  will  be  duly  notified  and 
published.” 

On  the  20th  of  February,  the  Governor  of  Natal  gave  notice  that, 
with  the  approval  of  Her  Majesty’s  Government  and  the  acquiescence 
of  the  Chiefs  and  people  of  Zuzuland,  the  authority  of  Queen  Victo- 
ria had  been  extended  over  Eastern  Zuzuland. 

A treaty  has  been  signed  by  Lord  Salisbury  and  M.  Flourens, 
limiting  the  sphere  of  action  of  England  and  France  in  Eastern  Africa. 
By  the  terms  of  this  understanding  England  recognizes  the  rights  of 
France  over  the  Obock  territory  and  the  Gulf  of  Tadjourah,  and 
cedes  to  that  country  the  island  of  Mashah,  situated  in  the  middle  of 
the  gulf.  The  frontier  line  of  the  French  territory  extends  from  Cape 
Djiboujeh,  beyond  the  district  already  under  French  protection,  to 
Harrar,  from  which  it  runs  in  a westerly  direction  to  Choa.  France 
acknowledges  the  authority  of  England  in  the  territories  situate  to 
the  east  of  Cape  Djiboujeh,  including  Dongaretta. 

An  agreement  concluded  between  Germany  and  England,  relating 
to  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar  and  German  and  English  interests  respec- 
tively in  East  Africa,  has  a double  signification,  first,  in  reference  to 
the  demarcating  of  the  districts  over  which  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar 
has  imperial  rights,  and,  secondly,  in  relation,  as  above,  to  the  inter- 
ests of  Germany  and  England.  The  Sultan  claimed  uninterrupted 
possession  of  the  entire  coast  from  Cape  Delgado  to  2.25  deg.  lati- 
tude north,  and  the  whole  of  the  land  behind  that,  extending  to  lakes 
Tanganyika  and  Nyassa.  According  to  the  agreement  there  has  been 
allowed  him  the  sole  right  to  the  coast  from  Cape  Delgado  to  Kipini, 
a harbor  1 deg.  south  latitude,  together  with  an  unimportant  allow- 
ance of  mainland.  The  width  of  this  coast  line,  which,  by  an  agree- 
ment of  England  and  France  at  Zanzibar,  was  to  extend  to  forty  sea 
miles,  has  been  reduced  to  ten  ; therefore  the  Sultan  is  obliged  to 
renounce  his  claims  to  the  whole  of  the  mainland  bordering  thereto. 
To  the  German  interests  are  assured  the  whole  of  the  mainland  pos- 
sessions between  Cape  Delgado  and  the  port  of  Wanga,  about  4 deg. 
30  min.  south  latitude,  extending  to  the  inland  seas;  also  the  north- 
ern part  of  lake  Nyassa,  the  whole  of  lake  Tanganyika,  and  the 
southern  part  of  the  Victoria  Nyanza  lake  to  1 deg.  south  latitude. 
Germany  also  takes  possession  of  the  mountainous  land  of  Uzambara 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  Kilima-Ndaro  district. 


GOVERNMENTAL. 


3 


In  the  Anglo-German  West  African  treaty  of  1885  a clause  was 
Inserted  to  the  effect  that  the  district  of  Ambas  Bay  (Victoria),  at 
that  time  in  the  possession  of  the  British,  should  be  turned  over  to 
the  German  Government  as  soon  as  the  latter  had  come  to  an  agree- 
ment with  the  English  Baptist  Missionaries,  who  had  resided  there. 
It  now  appears  that  the  Basle  Evangelical  Missionary  Society  has 
purchased  the  possessions  of  the  Baptists  in  Ambas  Bay,  and  that  the 
district  has  been  formally  handed  over  to  the  German  Cameroon  au- 
thorities. The  German  Cameroons  will  thus  be  extended  from  3 deg. 
south  hit.  to  the  Rio  del  Roy.  The  treaty  concluded  with  France  gave 
the  latter  country  the  district  south  of  the  Campo  river,  which  for- 
merly was  a German  possession,  while  in  another  treaty  with  England 
it  was  arranged  that  the  Rio  del  Roy  river  should  form  the  boundary 
of  both  districts,  and  in  a still  later  agreement  Yula,  near  Amu,  was 
fixed  as  the  inland  boundary  of  the  German  colony.  By  this  arrange- 
ment Germany  is  brought  into  close  proximity  to  the  borders  of  the 
Congo  State. 

A Convention  has  been  entered  into  between  Fiance  and  the 
Congo  Free  State  for  the  determination  of  the  common  frontier. 
Under  this  agreement  the  boundary  will  be  the  “thalweg”  of  the 
Oubrangi.  The  right  bank  of  the  river  will  belong  to  France ; the 
left  back  to  the  Congo  State.  The  station  known  as  Nkoundja, 
founded  by  M.  de  Brazza,  is  handed  over  to  the  Free  State.  By  this 
settlement  the  greater  part  of  the  basin  of  the  Congo  is  assigned  to 
France.  At  the  same  time  the  French  Government  admits  that  the 
right  of  pre-emption,  which  it  obtained  in  1883  over  the  Congo  pos- 
sessions, can  only  be  exercised  after  Belgium  has  resolved  not  to 
acquire  the  colony  should  its  founders  desire  to  cede  it.  The  found- 
ers renounce  the  permission,  granted  by  M.  Ferry,  to  issue  a lottery 
of  20.000.000f.  in  France  for  the  benefit  of  the  Free  State,  and  acquire 
the  right  of  having  the  shares  of  its  loans  quoted  to  the  amount  of 
8o,coo,ooof.  The  agreement  is  understood  to  settle  the  last  matter 
in  dispute  with  reference  to  the  French  possessions  of  western  Af- 
rica. 

A Convention  has  been  signed,  fixing  the  boundaries  of  the  Ger- 
man and  Portuguese  possessions  on  the  southwest  coast  of  Africa, 
and  defining  the  regions  in  central  Africa,  where  the  two  Powers 
may  henceforth  have  liberty  of  action.  The  central  region  embraces, 
so  far  as  Portugal  is  concerned,  the  whole  area  situated  between  the 
two  Portuguese  provinces  of  Angola  and  Mozambique.  The  Portu- 
guese boundary  in  Southern  Angola  is  as  follows : — Following  the 
course  of  the  Cunene  river  from  the  mouth  to  the  second  cataract  in 


4 


GOVERNMENTAL. 


the  mountains  of  Chella  or  Canna,  the  line  runs  parallel  to  the  river 
as  far  as  the  Cubango,  when  it  follows  the  course  of  that  river  in  a 
southerly  direction  as  far  as  Andara.  From  this  point  the  bQundary 
line  runs  along  the  parallel  of  lati  ude  as  far  as  the  Zambesi,  crossing 
that  river  at  the  head  of  the  Cetimo  rapids.  The  limits  in  the  north 
of  Mozambique  are  determined  by  the  course  of  the  Rovuma  as  far 
as  its  confluence  with  the  Msinge,  the  l>ne  running  thence  as  far  as 
the  banks  of  the  Nyassa.  By  the  terms  of  this  Convention  Germany 
undertakes  to  establish  no  domination  over  these  territories,  and  nei- 
ther to  accept  a protectorate  nor  to  interfere  with  Portuguese  influ- 
ence in  the  entire  region  situated  between  Angola  and  Mozambique, 
excepting  certain  points  previously  acquired  by  other  Powers.  Ger- 
many also  recognizes  the  right  of  Portugal  to  exercise  her  right  of 
sovereignty  and  her  civilizing  influence  in  the  territories  referred  to. 

By  annexing  the  Saharan  coast  between  capes  Blanco  and  Pojador 
and  about  1 50  miles  of  the  interior,  and  by  treaties  recently  made  with 
the  Sheikha  of  Adarer,  still  further  east,  Spain  introduces  a wedge 
between  the  French  in  Senegal  and  the  southern  frontier  of  Morocco, 
besides  gaining  an  important  flank  position  upon  the  projected  rail- 
way from  Algeria  to  Senegal.  By  the  treaty  of  1S14  France  had  re- 
turned to  her  all  the  Senegal  coast  which  had  been  conceded  to  the 
French  Senegal  Company,  whose  extreme  northern  trading  station 
was  placed  in  the  Bay  of  Arguin,  slightly  to  the  south  of  Cape  Blan- 
co- Spain  takes  possession  of  Greyhound  Bay,  under  the  lee  of  Cape 
Blanco,  and  joining  on  the  south  the  Bay  of  Arguin.  If  the  north- 
ern limit  of  the  annexed  territory  really  reaches  Cape  Bojador  at  ar» 
angle,  as  the  land  lies,  there  will  be  500  miles  of  coast,  so  that  the 
new  Spanish  territory  covers  no  less  than  75,000  square  miles. 

Italy  is  preparing  for  an  active  campaign  for  the  establishment 
of  its  position  in  Africa,  and  Abyssinia  is  making  ready  fora  deter- 
mined resistance.  At  Rome  a formidable  expedition  is  being  organ- 
ized, volunteers  are  called  for,  and  camels,  indispensable  to  any  cam- 
paign in  Abyssinia,  are  being  purchased  in  Egypt  and  at  Aden.  On 
the  other  hand  King  John  has  ordered  Ras  Alula  to  attack  the  Ital- 
ians the  moment  they  emerge  from  Massowah,  and  has  issued  a proc- 
lamation justifying  his  action.  Several  skirmishes  betwee..  outposts 
and  natives  are  reported  to  have  already  occurred.  That  the  cam- 
paign, if  pushed,  will  end  in  the  success  of  Italy  there  can  be  little 
doubt,  though  that  the  difficulties  which  will  attend  the  undertaking 
are  not  to  be  despised  is  shown  by  the  British  expedition  against 
King  Theodore.  The  overthrow  of  that  monarch  involved  an  expe- 
ditionary force  of  16,000  men,  which  the  necessities  of  transport  and 


THE  CONGO. 


D 


supply  increased  to  double  that  number,  and  as  the  Italians  must  ad- 
vance by  a more  difficult  route  than  the  British,  and  face  a united 
instead  of  a divided  people,  a force  of  at  least  equal  magnitude  will 
be  inevitable. 

A rising  of  the  natives  north  and  west  of  Inhambane  against  the 
Portuguese  authorities  on  the  coast  appears  to  have  been  caused  by 
the  desire  of  the  native  King,  Umgana,  to  punish  certain  chiefs  who 
had  been  tributary  to  his  father,  Umzila,  but  who  had  recently  sub- 
mitted to  the  Portuguese  authorities.  Several  months  ago  the  Por- 
tuguese officers  were  excited  over  the  reports  of  the  finding  of  gold 
in  the  interior,  and  they  sent  an  embassy  to  Umoyamuhle,  the  capital 
of  Umgana,  seeking  authority  to  dig  for  gold  within  his  territory. 
Negotiations  were  regarded  as  favorable,  and  the  treaty  was  drawn, 
which  was  sent  to  Lisbon  for  ratification.  The  Governor  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Inhambane,  and  Captain  Moore,  commander  of  the  Portu- 
guese forces,  set  out  for  the  king’s  headquarters,  for  the  purpose  of 
assuming  control  over  the  whole  country,  even  as  far  as  the  Zambezi. 
Tax  collectors  were  sent  into  the  districts  adjoining  Inhambane, 
and  two  small  districts  to  the  north  were  peacefully  attached  to  the 
Inhambane  province.  This  seems  to  have  irritated  King  Umgana, 
and  he  immediately  despatched  a large  force  to  regain  his  possessions 
and  punish  the  chiefs  who  had  submitted.  This  they  succeeded  in 
doing  speedily.  The  town  of  Inhambane  has  been  in  the  hands  of 
the  Portuguese  for  the  last  three  hundred  years,  and  formerly  had  an 
important  trade  in  gold  and  slaves.  It  is  situated  some  twelve  miles 
up  a tidal  arm  of  the  sea.  The  Portuguese  have  a custom  house, 
barracks,  governor's  house,  and  a half-dozen  shipping  offices.  The 
defences  consist  of  two  guns  and  their  complement  of  artillerymen, 
and  two  or  three  companies  cf  infantry.  The  officers  are  drawn  from 
the  non-commissioned  ranks  ol  the  Portuguese  army,  the  rank  and 
file  consisting  of  Negroes,  a large  portion  of  whom  are  held  as  sol- 
diers, as  a species  of  penal  servitude  for  various  offences. 

THE  CONGO. 

Details  relative  to  the  evacuation  of  the  station  of  Stanley  Falls 
by  the  forces  of  the  Congo  State  show  that  a female  slave  took  refuge 
in  the  station,  and  that  the  Arab  chief,  her  owner,  demanded  her 
surrender,  which  Mr.  Deane,  the  chief  of  the  station,  refused.  After 
some  violent  discussion  peace  was  re-established,  the  steamer  Stanley 
having,  in  the  meantime,  arrived  at  the  station.  A few  days  after- 
wards, however,  the  Arabs  attacked  the  station.  The  Congo  State 
soldiers—  Houssas  and  Bangalas — fought  well  for  three  days,  but 


6 


THE  CONGO. 


their  ammunition  being  exhausted  they  refused  to  continue  the 
struggle,  and  embarked  in  pirogues  in  order  to  descend  the  river. 
Mr.  Deane,  Lieutenant  Dubois,  four  Houssas,  and  four  boys,  then 
set  the  station  on  fire  and  retreated  along  the  northern  bank  of  the 
Congo.  Lieutenant  Dubois  lost  his  balance  on  the  steep  bank  and 
was  drowned.  Mr.  Deane  was  hospitably  received  by  some  friendly 
natives,  with  whom  he  remained  for  a month.  Captain  Coquilhat, 
who  commands  the  station  of  the  Bangalas,  on  the  arrival  there  of 
the  disbanded  Houssas  and  Bangalas,  went  immediately  on  board  the 
steamer  L’Association  Internationale  Africaine  to  the  Falls,  ar.d,  not 
having  sufficient  forces  to  retake  the  station,  he  succeeded,  after  three 
days’  search,  in  finding  Mr.  Deane.  Stanley  Falls,  on  the  Congo, 
has  been  the  extreme  point  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  river 
occupied  by  the  forces  of  the  new  State,  and  is  about  1000  miles 
above  Stanley  Pool. 

Unfavorable  intelligence  has  been  received  from  the  colony  on 
the  French  portion  of  the  Congo,  where  warlike  tribes  incessantly 
devastate  the  best  parts  of  the  basin  of  the  Ogowe,  attacking  explor- 
ing parties  and  caravans  and  laying  waste  the  settlements  already 
founded.  M.  de  Brazza,  Governor  General  of  tha  French  Congo, 
who  left  Libraville,  on  the  roast,  some  months  ago  for  the  interior  of 
the  colony,  was  attacked  by  a body  of  Pahuins.  who  tried  to  prevent 
him  from  continuing  his  journey  up  the  Ogowe,  A fight  ensued  on 
the  river,  in  which  M.  de  Brazza  repulsed  his  assailants.  He  lost 
some  men,  and  several  others  who  were  wounded  had  to  be  sent  back 
to  the  coast.  M.  de  Brazza  continued  his  journey. 

The  general  government  of  the  Congo  is  now  organized.  The 
Governor- General  resides  at  Boma,  where  he  publishes  the  decrees 
which  are  issued  at  Brussels  by  King  Leopold.  The  decrees  up  to 
the  present  refer  chiefly  to  the  organization  of  property  and  to  respect 
for  authority  and  law.  The  civil  and  criminal  code  of  Belgium  has 
been  made  obligatory  for  the  whole  Congo  State.  A tribunal  has 
been  established  at  Boma,  and  a postal  service  from  Banana  to  Leo- 
poldville. The  Governor- General  administers  the  State  with  sover- 
eign powers,  and  can  by  his  authority  decide  all  difficulties  which 
may  arise. 

It  is  at  Stanley  Pool  that  the  progress  made  by  the  Congo  State, 
during  the  last  six  years,  can  best  be  appreciated.  In  1 88 1 Mr.  H.  M. 
Stanley,  who  led  the  first  expedition  of  the  International  Association, 
arrived  there  and  founded  Leopoldville,  where  the  two  Belgian  offi- 
cers, M.  Va'cke  and  M.  Braconier,  were  installed.  There  are  now  at 
Stanley  Pool  nine  establishments,  containing  some  fifty  Europeans 


STANLEY  AND  EMIN. 


7 


employed  in  either  trading  stations  or  missions.  There  are  also  the 
French  station  of  Debrazzaville,  a factory  from  Rotterdam,  a French 
factory,  and  the  two  Belgian  stations  of  Leopoldville  and  Kinchassa, 
containing  fifteen  Europeans,  twenty  workmen,  and  a garrison  of 
Houssas  and  Bangalas. 

The  great  difficulty  experienced  by  the  Independent  Congo  State 
is  the  acclimatisation  of  Europeans.  The  services  of  many  intelli- 
gent and  devoted  men  have  been  lost  because  they  were  brought  into 
a climate  different  from  that  of  Europe.  The  losses  have  been  nu  ■ 
merous  on  the  Congo.  The  difficulty  remains  as  regards  non-accli- 
matised  European  workmen,  who  cannot  withstand  the  African  cli- 
mate. It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  Congo  State  has  endeavored  to 
take  over  Chinese  to  Central  Africa.  When  General  Scranch  was 
at  Berlin,  in  1885,  to  assist  in  the  labors  of  the  Congo  Conference,  he 
had  some  conlerences  with  General  Tcheng-ki-Tong,  the  Chinese 
Military  Attache,  to  whom  he  proposed  that  500  Chinamen,  joiners, 
carpenters,  gardeners,  &c.,  should  be  sent  to  the  Congo.  They  were 
to  receive  a fixed  salary,  a free  passage  to  the  Congo  and  back,  and 
the  assurance  that  in  case  of  death  their  bodies  would  be  sent  to 
China  for  interment.  The  Chinese  Military  Attache  promised  to 
transmit  this  proposal  to  Pekin,  but  no  reply  has  yet  been  made  by 
the  Chinese  Government. 

STANLEY  AND  EMIN. 

Just  now  the  world  is  interested  in  efforts  made  for  the  relief  of 
the  learned  and  brave  Dr.  Emin  Bey,  who  has  beer,  for  some  years  in 
the  interior  of  Africa  superintending  the  province  of  which  he  w s 
given  direction  by  the  English  Government  before  General  Gordon’s 
death.  I.etters  have  been  received  from  Dr.  Etnin,  dated  at  Wadeiai, 
showing  that  he  is  still  holding  his  own,  and  that  he  has  done  much 
for  the  development  of  the  province  and  for  the  suppression  of  the 
slave  trade.  Wadeiai  is  about  one  thousand  miles  south  of  Khar- 
toum, between  Gondokoro  and  the  Albert  Nyanza.  He  speaks  of 
his  great  confidence  in  the  trustworthiness  and  ability  of  the  Negro, 
and  says  that  his  experience  has  taught  him  “that  the  black  race  is 
second  to  none  in  capacity  and  excels  many  others  in  unselfishness,” 
and  asks  for  succor — not  for  an  armed  force,  but  for  supplies,  includ- 
ing ammunition  for  his  own  forces.  Emin  Bey  also  states:  “ I have 
passed  twelve  years  here,  and  have  succeeded  in  reoccupving  nearly 
every  station  in  the  country  which  General  Gordon  intrusted  to  me. 
I have  won  the  trust  and  confidence  of  the  people,  sowing  the  seed 
of  a splendid  future  civilization.  It  is  out  of  the  question  to  ask  me 


8 


STANLEY  AND  EMIN. 


to  leave.  All  I want  England  to  do  is  to  make  a free  trading  way  to 
the  coast.” 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  gives  a brief 
rsketch  of  Emin  Pasha,  whose  true  name  is  Eduard  Schneitzer,  born 
March  28,  1840,  in  Prussian  Silesia.  After  graduating  in  medicine 
he  became  attached  to  the  household  of  Ismail  Pasha,  and  visited 
Trebizonri,  Erzroom,  and  Constantinople.  In  1875  he  started  for  Egypt 
as  surgeon  in  the  army.  Attracting  the  attention  of  Gen.  Gordon 
he  was  made  Governor  of  the  Equatorial  Province,  and  his  subse- 
•qent  history  is  now  well  known. 

Mr.  H.  M.  Stanley  is  leading  an  expedition  for  the  relief  of  Emin 
Pasha.  It  consists  of  about  700  men,  provided  with  ample  supplies. 
Starting  from  Zanzibar  it  moved  by  steamers  to  and  up  the  Congo, 
and  thence  is  marching  by  land  from  the  Arnwhimi  to  Wadelai. 
The  anxiety  felt  concerning  the  expedition  is  allayed  by  recently 
received  telegrams.  There  wras  previously  abundance  of  evidence  to 
refute  the  report  that  the  explorer  had  been  killed,  and  the  most  re- 
cent despatch  conveys  the  assurance  that  the  march  through  the  un- 
known region  to  be  traversed  between  the  Aruwhimi  and  Wadelai 
was  proceeding  without  interruption  from  the  natives,  and  with  ample 
food  supplies.  Mr.  Stanley  has  probably  by  this  date  fulfilled  the  lead- 
ing object  of  his  mission,  as  he  was  expected  to  be  at  Wadelai  by  the 
middle  of  October,  if  not  sooner.  Almost  the  next  news  we  receive 
should  apprise  us  of  this  most  happy  consummation.  The  Egyptian 
Government  has  contributed  $50,000  toward  the  expenses  of  the  ex- 
pedition, and  the  British  Geographical  Society  has  given  $5,000,  wfith 
the  expectation  that  when  the  immediate  object  of  tl  e undertaking 
shall  have  been  accomplished,  Mr.  Stanley  will  spend  some  time  in  ex- 
plorations. 

The  problem  of  African  hydrography,  which  the  prince  of 
explorers  is  expected  to  solve,  is  one  of  extreme  importance.  It  is 
no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  secret  wrhich  may  be  disclosed  will 
surpass  in  importance  the  discovery  that  the  Lualaba  and  the  Congo 
form  one  continuous  waterway  from  the  Atlantic  to  lake  Tanganyika. 
The  question  is  whether  there  is  not  an  equally  mighty  waterway 
from  the  same  point  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  Africa — the  Congo 
mouth — right  up  to  those  southern  provinces  of  Egypt  which  General 
Gordon  and  his  lieutenants  sought  to  rescue  from  the  horrors  of  the 
slave  traffic,  and  over  a portion  of  which  Emin  rules.  It  has  been 
said  that  a shower  falling  over  a particular  area  in  the  interior  of 
Brazil  will  contribute  to  the  waters  of  the  North  and  South  Atlantic, 
and  to  the  Pacific.  By  a similar  chain  of  rivers  there  is  reason  to 
believe  a small  shower  falling  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Albert  Nyanza 


EXPLORATIONS. 


9 


would  flow  alike  to  the  Mediterranean  and  to  the  Atlantic  far  south 
of  the  equator.  In  a few  months  we  may  expect  to  learn  that  the 
north-western  half  of  Africa  is  almost  an  island,  separated  from  the 
southeast  portion  by  the  Congo,  the  Mobangi,  and  the  Nile. 

EXPLORATIONS. 

Thereturn  of  Dr. Oscar  Lenz  to  Europe  after  a journey  of  an  unus- 
ually short  duration  from  the  mouth  of  the  Congo  to  that  of  the  Zam- 
besi is  a notable  event  in  the  annals  of  Afiican  travel.  Starting  from 
Banana,  he  advanced  along  the  Congo  to  Stanley  Falls,  where  he  spent 
some  time  and  from  which  he  proceeded  to  Nyangwe,  and  thence 
to  Kasonge,  where  Dr.  Bohndorff,  Dr.  Lenz’s  companion,  was  pros- 
trated, and  several  of  his  men  fell  ill  and  died  of  small-pox  ; in  con* 
sequence  the  projected  expedition  was  abandoned,  and  Dr.  Lenz  de- 
termined to  make  his  way  to  the  coast.  He  went  from  the  Congo 
to  lake  Tanganyika,  and  taking  boat  to  the  southern  end  of  the  lake, 
he  crossed  another  high  plateau  to  lake  Nyassa,  encountering  many 
difficulties  in  this  portion  of  the  route.  From  the  southern  end  of 
lake  Nyassa  he  followed  the  river  Shire  to  the  Zambesi,  and  thence 
reached  the  Eastern  coast,  his  whole  journey  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Congo  to  that  of  the  Zambesi  having  occupied  but  seventeen  months- 

Dr.  Emil  Holub  has  reached  England  after  four  years  of  explora- 
tion and  although  his  expedition  was  broken  up  and  plurdered  by 
the  Mashukulurobe,  a tribe  far  north  of  the  Zambesi,  he  has  saved  a 
large  and  interesting  collection  which  should  prove  of  much 
scientific  value.  This  collection — a wreck  only  of  what  was  gather- 
ed by  the  industrious  exploier — fills  147  cases.  In  it  there  are  692 
skins  of  quadrupeds  ready  for  stuffing,  of  which  seventy  are  of  ani- 
mals as  large  as  the  koodoo— an  antelope  heavier  than  the  red  deer! 
of  birds  there  are  2,221  specimens,  of  insects  27,000,  including  21,000 
beetles  and  3,000  moths  and  butterflies.  There  also  6,500  specimens 
of  plants.  There  are  1,600  recorded  observations  in  meteorology 
and  more  than  that  number  of  the  measurements  of  elevations.  Al- 
together it  seems  probable  that  a more  important  collection  was  nev- 
er dispatched  from  Africa  at  one  time. 

Few  African  explorers  have  accomplished  so  much  that  is  of 
scientific  value  witti  such  limited  resources  as  Dr.  Junker,  and  the  re- 
sults of  his  researches  already  made  public  are  a sufficient  warrant 
for  the  enthusiasm  with  which  his  return  is  welcomed.  Without  a 
base  of  operation  from  which  to  work,  or  goods  or  following  to  pur- 
chase or  force  a right  of  passage,  he  has  pushed  his  way  through  the 
heart  of  Africa  under  circumstances  the  most  adverse  It  is  his  in- 
timacy with  and  friendship  for  the  isolated  remnant  of  Gordon’s  staff 


10 


EXPLORATIONS. 


in  the  Soudan,  however,  that  invests  him  with  most  interest,  as  his 
safe  return  indicates  the  possibility  that  they,  too,  may  yet  emerge 
from  the  region  in  which  for  years  .they  have  been  lost. 

According  to  a letter  received  in  Brussels,  Lieut.  Wissman,  con- 
cerning whose  whereabouts  considerable  uneasiness  had  been  felt,  ar- 
rived safely  in  the  beginning  of  April  at  lake  Tanganyika.  He  left 
the  station  at  Luluaburg  on  the  Kassai  river  in  November,  1886,  and 
proceeded  into  the  unexplored  region  containing  the  sources  of  the 
Luiongo.Tshuapa,  and  Lomani  rivers,  intending  to  reach  lake  Tangan- 
yika via  Nyangwe.  Lieut.  Wissman’s  letter,  dated  at  Kavala,  an  Eng- 
lish missionary  station  at  lake  Tanganyika,  shows  that  the  explorer 
has  so  far  been  successful  in  carrying  out  his  programme.  He  in- 
tends to  return  via  the  Nyassa  and  Zambesi  rivers. 

In  a debate  in  the  German  Reichstag,  Prince  Bismarck  stated’ 
that  the  budget  item  of  £7, 500  lor  colonial  exploration,  would  be 
granted  to  well-known  Alrican  travelers  for  the  purpose  of  making 
scentific  explorations  in  Africa,  having  chiefly  for  their  object  the 
opening  up  of  German  trade.  It  is  now  stated  that  the  Government 
has  resolved  to  hand  over  a part  of  this  amount  to  Lieutenant  Kund, 
who  will  proceed  to  the  Cameroons  and  found  a station  which  shall 
serve  as  the  starting  and  return  point  of  the  explorations  which  wfllfc 
be  made  into  the  interior  in  the  interests  of  science  and  commerce. 
Lieutenant  Kund,  who  has  already  achieved  fame  by  his  travels  with 
Lieutenant  Tappenbeck  in  the  Southern  Congo,  will  be  accompanied 
by  a physician  and  a botanist.  The  Lieutenant  will,  in  thefirst  place, 
conduct  expeditions  into  the  land  behind  the  Cameroons.  Another 
slice  of  the  fund  is  to  support  Dr.  Zintgraff,  who  is  to  be  sent  by  the 
Foreign  office  to  the  Cameroons  to  establish  a station  on  Lake  Ele- 
phant. Lake  Elephant  (Mbu)  lies  north  of  the  Cameroons  district,, 
about  5 deg.  north  latitude  and  9 deg.  30  min.  east  longitude.  The 
lake  was  discovered  by  Tomczek,  the  companion  of  Scholz  Rogozin- 
ski.  Dr.  Zintgraff  was  attached  to  the  staff  of  the  Governor  of  the 
Cameroons  for  a year,  and  then  made  numerous  investigations  on  the 
slopes  of  the  southern  mountains  and  on  the  delta.  His  intention  is 
to  sojourn  some  time  in  the  north,  and  there  to  make  observations, 
as  the  northern  district  is  at  present  unexplored.  From  the  con- 
temporaneous observations  in  Batanga  (3  deg.  north  latitude)  in  the 
south,  and  by  Lake  Elephant'in  the  north,  a thorough  knowfledge  of 
the  entire  district  of  the  Cameroons  may  soon  be  obtained. 

Major  Serpa  Pinto,  the  well-known  Portuguese  explorer, 
who  three  years  ago  made  the  brilliant  passage  through  Africa,  has 
again  arrived  in  Lisbon  after  the  fulfillment  of  a mission  from  the 


CABLES,  RAILROADS  AND  STEAMERS. 


11 


Government.  He  was  appointed  consul-general  for  Africa,  that  his 
official  position  might  give  him  influence  and  authority  in  arranging 
for  his  explorations,  and  especially  foi  an  approach  to  the  Sultan  of 
Zanzibar  in  favor  of  Portuguese  interests.  His  instructions  ordered 
him  mainly  to  explore  the  Nyassa  lake  and  become  better  acquainted 
with  the  tribes  on  its  shores,  in  order  to  enter  into  tiading  relations 
with  them,  and  to  open  up,  if  poss  ble,  a commercial  route  to  their 
region.  This  same  object  was  also  the  animus  of  the  mission  of 
Mess.  Capello  and  Tvens,  who  lately  crossed  Africa  from  the  west 
to  the  east  coast.  In  view  of  the  energeiic  character  of  Major  Pinto, 
his  Government  was  prepared  to  see  him  pass  the  Nyassa,  and 
come  to  light  again  in  the  west,  but  he  was  twice  detained  by 
sickness  and  then  obliged  to  give  up  the  idea  of  commanding  the 
expedition  through  the  interior.  His  representative  and  companion, 
naval  officer  Cordoso,  took  the  party  to  Nyassa,  and  his  geographical 
investigations  are  of  much  scientific  interest. 


CABLES,  RAILROADS  AND  STEAMERS. 

A sub-marine  cable  has  been  completed  to  St.  Paul  de  Loando* 
thus  placing  West  Central  Africa  in  direct  telegraphic  communica- 
tion with  the  world. 

The  Portuguese  Government  has  authorized  the  construction  of 
a railroad  from  St.  Paul  de  Loando,  on  the  west  coast,  to  Ambaca* 
on  the  east  coast,  to  be  completed  in  four  years.  Mr.  K.  P.  Crandall,  of 
Ithaca.  N.  Y.,  is  chief  engineeer,  and  Mr.  George  A.  Steele,  of  Bir- 
mingham, Ala.,  is  chief  assistant,  engineer.  Captain  Thys,  of  the 
Belgian  General  Staff,  who  has  been  surveying  at  the  Congo  with  a 
view  to  the  building  of  a railway,  declares  that  the  part  which 
he  has  examined  offers  no  insurmountable  difficulty.  Another  Port- 
uguese line  of  steamers  has  been  established  for  the  west  coast  of 
Africa,  and  hereafter  communication  will  be  much  more  rapid  than 
formerly.  At  present  the  time  between  Lisbon  and  Mossamedes  is  2& 
days,  which  by  the  new  line  will  be  reduced  to  18.  while  the  time  be- 
tweeen  Lisbon  and  St.  Paul  de  Loando  will  be  shortened  from  23  to 
13  days.  The  Government  of  the  Congo  State  has  accepted  the  offer 
of  Messrs  Walford  & Co.,  of  Antwerp,  to  run  a monthly  line  of  Begi- 
an  steamers  between  Antwerp  and  the  Congo.  When  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Congo  brought  into  existence  a regular  direct  line  of 
steamers  between  Antwe  p and  the  Congo,  through  the  contract 
made  with  Messrs.  Walford,  the  English  lines,  which  do  most  of  the 
carrying  trade  between  Liverpool  and  the  West  Coast  of  Africa,  be- 
came uneasy.  The  new  line  was  calculated  to  deprive  them  of  a por- 


12 


GOLD  AND  DIAMONDS. 


tion  of  the  traffic,  and  as  Antwerp  may  become  an  entrepot  for  goods 
to  be  exported  to  and  imported  from  Africa,  it  might  also  affect  the 
Liverpool  market  unfavorably.  It  has  been  determined,  therefore,  to 
let  the  Liverpool  steamers  touch  at  Antwerp  every  month  with  a 
view  to  pick  up  cargo.  At  the  same  time  the  rates  of  freight  have 
been  reduced — that  from  Liverpool  to  St.  Paul  de  Loando,  which  was 
hitherto  35s.  per  ton,  has  been  redaced  to  17s.  per  ton.  Commercial 
relations  between  Aden  and  East  Africa,  north  of  Zanzibar,  are  de- 
veloped by  a regular  line  of  steamers  between  Aden  and  the  Somali 
ports. 

GOLD  AND  DIAMONDS. 

The  quartz  from  the  Sheba  reef  in  the  De  Kaap  Valley,  Trans- 
vaal, yields  ftom  10  to  30  ounces  gold  to  the  ton.  The  amount  of 
gold  that  mining  experts  claim  this  reef  contains  is  fabulous.  But 
even  this  wonderful  reef  has  been  eclipsed  by  another  reef  discover- 
ed shortly  after  and  known  as  the  Thomas  reef,  samples  of  quartz 
weighing  3.000  pounds  from  which,  it  is  claimed,  yielded  148  ounces 
of  gold.  These  discoveries  naturally  gave  an  impetus  to  prospecting 
on  a large  scale,  resulting  in  the  discovery  of  marvelously  extensive 
and  rich  gold-quartz  veins.  The  territory  within  which  gold  quartz 
has  been  found  extends  fiom  Witwatersrand,  30  miles  from  the  capi- 
tal, Pretoria,  easterly  200  miles  to  the  De  Kaap  Valley,  with  a varv- 
ing  width  of  from  30  to  150  miles.  These  gold-bearing  veins  or  reefs 
occur  in  patches  of  a more  or  less  rich  or  payable  character.  Quartz 
taken  from  the  Witwatersrand  gold  fields  has  yielded  from  41030 
ounces  gold  to  the  ton.  It  is  impossible,  considering  the  embryonic 
state  of  these  gold  fields,  to  give  anything  like  an  accurate  account 
of  their  extent  or  capabilities,  but  it  may  be  safely  claimed  that  the 
Transvaal  fields  will  prove  among  the  richest  in  the  world.  These 
discoveries  have  naturally  given  rise  to  no  end  of  speculation  and 
mining  ventures,  and  a great  rush  of  capitalists,  miners,  and  advent- 
urers has  set  in  for  the  fields.  Near  the  Shelba  reef  a city,  Barberton, 
has  sprung  up  as  if  by  magic,  numbering  already  7,000  to  8,000  popu- 
lation, and  is  rapidly  increasing.  Barberton  is  situated  in  the  De 
Kaap  Valley  in  the  northeastern  portion  of  the  Transvaal  between 
latitude  25  and  26  south.  The  nearest  seaport  is  Delagoa  Bry,  ir.  the 
Portuguese  possessions  on  the  east  coast,  from  which  it  isdistant  about 
200  miles.  This  roufe  is  only  available  in  the  winter  months,  the  pre- 
valence of  fever  in  the  summer  time  effectually  closing  it  to  traffic  A 
railway  between  Delagoa  Bay  and  Pretoria  is  in  course  of  construction 
and  its  completion  will  greatly  facilitate  communication  with  the 
fields.  The  next  nearest  route  to  Baiberton  is  via  Port  Natal,  dis- 


TRADE. 


13 


tant  481  miles,  of  which  189  miles  is  by  railway  and  the  remainder  by 
wagon.  The  best  and  most  popular  route  at  present  is  by  way  of 
Cape  Town  to  Kimberly,  646  miles  by  rail,  and  from  Kimberly  to 
Pretoria,  360  miles  by  wagon.  The  journey  is  made  by  this  route  in 
from  six  to  twenty  days,  at  a cost  of  from  $75  to$i2o,  according  to 
class  and  style  of  traveling.  It  seems  probable  that  the  gold-bearing 
reefs  which  have  proved  so  productive  in  the  Transvaal,  extend  into 
Natal.  Within  the  past  few  weeks  a reef  rich  in  gold  has  been  dis- 
covered at  Umzinto,  on  the  borders  of  the  Ifafa  reserve,  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  there  is  a similar  deposit  near  Umtwalume  station  of  the 
American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions.  There  is 
much  excitment  throughout  Natal. 

The  exports  of  diamonds  from  South  Africa  for  the  month  of 
September,  1887,  amounted  to  253.391  carats,  valued  at  .£330,947. 

TRADE. 

Since  the  Berlin  Conference  allotted  the  upper  part  of  the  river 
to  the  care  of  France,  and  placed  the  lower  portion,  with  the  Binue, 
under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain,  little  has  been  heard  of  the  Ni- 
ger. It  was  to  an  Englishman  that  the  discovery  of  the  river  was  due, 
and  the  Royal  Niger  Company  may  be  spoken  of  as  t,he  direct  repre- 
sentative of  the  traders  who,  forty  years  ago,  endeavored  to  open  up 
the  Niger  basin  to  commerce.  After  the  death  of  M'Gregor  Laird, 
the  actual  pioneer  of  British  trade  on  the  Niger,  the  ground  was  oc- 
cupied by  the  West  Africa  Company  and  other  firms.  The  amalga- 
mation of  these  into  one  large  private  Company  in  1879  followed,  and 
in  1882  this  Company  was  further  developed  as  a public  joint-stock 
association  under  the  title  of  the  National  Afiican  Company.  Of 
the  two  large  French  Companies  which  were  the  chief  competitois 
of  the  new  organization,  one  was  driven  from  the  field  and  the  other 
was  bought  up.  Thus  the  present  Company,  having  retained  its  po- 
sition by  the  operation  of  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  and 
having  grown  by  absorbing  all  its  most  persistent  and  energetic 
competitors,  may  be  considered  to  have  earned  the  Royal  Charter 
which  was  bestowed  in  July,  1886.  Its  claim  to  respect,  however,  is 
not  based  merely  on  its  proved  supremacy  as  a trading  organization, 
it  has  made  237  treaties  with  native  tribes,  and  it  is  asserted  that  it 
has  so  established  itself  in  the  good-will  of  the  natives  that  no  single 
tribe  has  refused  to  join  the  confederation  which  it  is  forming  for 
trading  and  administrative  purposes.  The  limits  of  its  influence  are 
being  constantly  extended.  Already  it  has  a station  within  200  miles 
of  the  inland  sea— lake  Chad — which  is  supposed  to  feed  some  of 


14 


TRADE. 


the  western  tributaries  of  the  Nile,  and  it  has  made  treaties  with  the 
extensive  empires  of  Sokoto  and  Gando,  which  travelers  have  spok- 
en of  as  offering  practically  unlimited  opportunities  for  trade.  It  is 
reported  that  the  Company  has  decided  to  send  a mission  inland  to 
lake  Chad  itself,  in  order  to  establish  trading  relations  on  its  shores 
and  connecting  waterways  which  will  enable  it  to  tap  regions  at  pres- 
ent trading  with  the  other  outer  world  only  by  way  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean ana  Red  Sea  coasts.  Finally,  by  way  of  the  Binue  the  Com- 
pany seems  likely  to  be  brought  almost  in  touch  with  the  north-west- 
ern portion  of  the  Congo  Free  State  and  the  waterways  which  join 
the  Congo  in  that  region. 

At  the  “ Seventh  Ordinary  General  Meeting  of  the  Shareholders 
of  the  Royal  Niger  Company,”  held  in  London,  June  16,  1887,  Lord 
Aberdare,  Governor  of  the  Company,  presided  and  in  a speech  of  re- 
markable clearness  and  fulness  of  detail,  unfolded  the  origin,  pres- 
ent status  and  methods  of  the  Companv.  Among  other  things  he 
said  : — “ What  I wish  'o  tell  you  is  this — that  whereas  we  have  de- 
pended hitherto  on  rather  a small  numoer  of  articles,  we  shall  look 
heareafter  to  reap  the  benefit  of  a very  extended  trade  in  articles 
not  before  taken  into  account.  You  must  not  suppose  with  respect 
to  the  past  that  we  have  been  idle.  I believe  I am  strictly  within 
the  truth  when  I say  that  since  the  formation  of  the  Company, 
which  has  not  had  a very  long  existence,  the  whole  volume  of  our 
trade  has  been  fully  doubled.  What  has  happened,  unfortunately, 
has  been  that  there  has  been  a very  considerable  reduction  in  the 
price  of  this  produce.  We  published  for  your  information,  last  year, 
what  that  reduction  had  been  between  1884  and  1886,  and  I think 
we  showed  that  in  one  of  the  principal  articles,  oil,  the  fail  in  price 
had  been  from  £37  to  ,£18  10s.  At  this  moment  I believe  the  price 
is  £17  1 os.  I feel  that  a meeting  of  this  sort  can  never  terminate 
satisfactorily  unless  with  the  announcement  of  a dividend,  and  as  you 
well  know,  I have  no  such  announcement  to  make  to-day.  I should 
be  very  cautious  indeed  of  giving  any  undue  encouragement;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  I think  it  is  my  duty,  on  this  occasion,  to  call 
attention  to  certain  facts  which  should  encourage  us  as  to  the  future. 
When  I stood  here  last  year  the  accounts  1 had  present  showed  that 
our  liabilities  on  loans  were  ,£111,000.  It  is  true  that  I was  enabled 
to  assure  you  that  in  the  six  months  that  had  passed  between  the 
date  of  the  accounts  and  the  date  of  the  meeting  those  liabilities  had 
been  reduced  to  ^78,000.  But  such  was  our  position  then,  that  we 
were  obliged  to  warn  the  shareholders  that  it  might  be  necessary — 
though  we  did  not  deem  it  probable— to  make  a call  in  the  course 


TRADE. 


15 


of  a few  months.  I am  happy  to  say  there  has  been  no  necessity 
for  such  call.  You  find  a reduction  in  our  accounts  on  the  31st  of 
December,  of  those  liabilities  to  ^48,000,  and  I am  happy  now  to  an- 
nounce to  you  that  the  whole  of  those  liabilities,  with  the  exception 
of  a few  hundred  pounds,  will,  at  the  end  of  this  month,  have  entire- 
ly disappeared  ; we  shall  have  got  rid  of  the  whole  of  that  incubus  of 
debt.  There  is  another  point.  Last  year  we  were  obliged  most  sor- 
rowfully to  admit  that,  so  far  from  making  our  usual  profit,  we  had 
made  a loss  of  ,£38,000;  but  this  included  a sum  of  over  ,£20,000  for 
depreciation.  The  present  state  of  the  accounts  shows  that  we  have 
made  a profit,  in  fact,  of  ,£28,000  this  year,  though  about  ,£20,000  has 
been  applied  in  providing,  as  has  been  done  very  fully,  lor  deprecia- 
tion of  our  stock.  There  is  a third  point  to  which  I would  call  your 
attention.  You  will  see  the  report  says  that  the  ordinary  trade  lia- 
bilities on  open  accounts  and  bills  payable,  which  in  the  previous 
balance-sheet  stood  at  the  moderate  amount  of  £72,000,  were  reduced 
by  the  31st  of  December,  1886,  to  ,£46,000.  Now  I can  easily  under- 
stand that  gentlemen  before  me  might  say,  “Yes,  that  is  apparently 
satisfactory,  and  there  is  a diminution  there  between  ,£20,000  and 
^30,000  of  our  ordinary  trade  liabilities,  but  does  not  that  show  rath- 
er a diminished  volume  of  trade,  because  those  accounts  show,  in 
fact,  what  were  the  purchases  we  were  making  for  the  purpose  of 
bartering  in  those  countries?  ” To  that  I have  to  give  the  explana- 
tion that  the  purchasing  power  of  the  goods  is  necessarily  larger 
when  the  prices  of  produce  are  low  than  when  they  are  high.  Take, 
for  instance,  the  price  of  oil,  which  has  fallen  50  per  cent.  It  does 
not  require  the  same  amount  of  goods  for  us  to  purchase  the  same 
amount  of  produce  that  we  formerly  had  to  give.  There  is  another 
point  which  is  of  interest  and  importance,  which  is,  that  since  we 
were  here  last  year,  we  have  obtained  telegraphic  communication 
with  the  Niger,  and  the  result  is  that  we  are  able  to  adapt  stocks  of 
goods  much  more  closely  than  formerly  to  the  requirements  of  trade. 
Formerly,  when  communication  was  slow,  we  were  obliged  to  have 
large  quantities  of  stock  on  hand;  we  were  obliged  to  provide  for 
possibilities.  Now,  with  telegraphic  communication,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  keep  this  large  stock-in-trade.  These  are  favorable  matters, 
which  should  not  be  kept  back.  I am  as  adverse  as  any  man  can  be 
to  giving  undue  encouragement,  but  on  the  other  hand  I do  not 
think  that  we  ought  to  adopt  the  report  without  fully  considering 
what  are  the  encouraging  circumstance  since  I had  last  the  honor  of 
addressing  you  in  this  position.’’ 

During  the  discussion  on  the  adoption  of  the  Report,  Mr.  H.  H. 
Howorth,  M.  P.,  said:  “I  feel  that  this  company  is  not  altogether  a 


16 


TRADE. 


trading  company,  but  a very  great  political  undertaking,  that  will 
have  to  be  developed  very  much  upon  the  lines  of  the  East  India 
Company.”  Mr.  Ho  worth  seems  to  have  expressed  the  feeling  of  the 
meeting. 

Those  familiar  with  Livingstone’s  later  explorations  will  remem- 
ber that  his  investigations  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  lake  Nyassa, 
which  empties  its  waters  into  the  Zambesi,  the  Shire  serving  as  a 
conduit.  The  dream  of  his  life  was  to  utilize  the  extensive  water- 
way for  the  introduction  of  commerce,  in  order  that  the  tribes  there 
might  have  an  opportunity  uf  turning  the  wealth  of  their  country  to 
good  account,  and  not  be  dependent  for  every  yard  of  calico  or  string 
of  beads.  In  common  with  all  African  rivers,  the  Shire  has  its  cata- 
racts, and  thus  a clear  run  from  the  Indian  Ocean  from  the  Zam- 
besi to  lake  Nyassa  is  impossible.  A “ portage  ” of  75  miles  half- 
way between  the  lake  and  the  Zambesi  is  a necessity.  However, 
with  the  help  of  some  old  comrades,  a new  attempt  was  resolved 
upon  in  the  year  1878.  Mr.  E.  D.  Young,  a gunner  in  the  English 
Navy,  had  seen  just  where  the  breaking  point  lay  previously,  and 
when  he  was  invited  to  assist  in  resuscitating  plans,  he  rendered  in- 
valuable service.  Sent  out  by  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  to 
investigate  the  story  of  Livingstone’s  reported  murder  in  ’.876,  he 
was  able  to  try  thoroughly  the  experiment  of  transporting  boats  in 
sections.  His  vessel,  the  Search,  was  put  together  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Admiralty  authorities,  and  proved  a success  during  Mr. 
Young's  successful  adventure.  With  the  experience  of  this  last  trip, 
Mr.  Young  received  a commission  from  the  Established  and  Free 
Churches  of  Scotland  to  provide  them  with  a similar  steam  vessel, 
and  the  Ilala  was  built  and  placed  on  lake  Nyassa,  at  the  service 
of  the  missionaries.  It  speaks  well  for  the  future  that  Emin  Pasha 
has  the  above-named  vessel  still  afloat.  The  Ilala  is  reported  “as 
“ tight  as  a bottle,”  after  ten  years’  seamanship,  during  which  she 
has  had  to  weather  many  a heavy  gale. 

The  African  Lakes  Company  was  formed  in  1878,  to  assist  the 
various  missions  then  established,  and  to  work  out  Livingstone’s 
schemes.  It  had  its  days  of  small  things  and  its  successes,  but  it  can 
boast  steady  development  through  all.  Twenty-five  Europeans  are 
dotted  about  at  trading  stations  stretching  from  Quillimane,  on  the 
coast,  to  a point  half-way  between  the  lakes  Nyassa  and  Tanganyika. 
These  stations  are  twelve  in  number,  and  three  steamers  ply  on  lake 
and  river  with  regularity.  The  company  has  shown  itself  equal  to 
conveying  a steam  vessel  in  sections  across  from  lake  Nyassa,  and 
she  is  now  on  lake  Tanganyika  with  the  staff  of  the  London  Mission- 
ary Society.  But  the  point  which  the  company  has  settled  is  this  : 


TRADE. 


17 


It  has  proved  that  it  is  possible  to  trade  in  India-rubber,  wax,  oil- 
seeds and  ivory  to  an  enormous  amount  without  defiling  the  list  of 
their  barter  with  a single  keg  of  trade  rum,  or  the  all  representative 
“ square-face  ” of  the  West  Coast  trade. 

In  the  meeting  held  recently  at  Brussels  to  constitute  the  Congo 
Company  the  capital  required  was  more  than  subscribed.  The 
shares  were  for  the  most  part  taken  by  the  industrial  houses, 
the  banking  establishments,  and  the  maufacturers  of  Gand,  Verviers, 
Namur  and  Liege.  Robaix  and  Antwerp,  Morlanwelz,  and  and  other 
industrial  centres  are  represented  on  the  board  of  directors.  M.  de 
Brazza  not  only  purchased  a large  quantity  of  goods  during  his  re- 
cent visit  to  Rouen,  but  he  ordered  a new  screw  steamer,  called  the 
Alima,  to  carry  them  on  the  waters  of  the  upper  Congo. 

For  centuries  Zanzibar  was  the  chief  mart  of  ivory,  which  was 
brought  partly  from  the  coast  and  partly  from  the  interior.  But  with  the 
increased  consumption  of  that  article  elephants  are  being  exterminat- 
'cd,  and  have  to  be  sought  far  away  in  the  interior  to  the  west  of 
Tanganyika  and  northwest  of  Victoria  Nvanza.  The  chief  trading 
centre  in  the  interior  is  Tabara,  in  Myamwesi,  where  various  car- 
avan routes  meet.  The  practice  at  present  is  for  traders  to  equip  a 
caravan  in  Zanzibar,  and  place  it  in  charge  of  a trustworthy  Arab, 
who  takes  it  from  Bagamoyo,  opposite  Zanzibar,  to  Tabara. 
If  he  finds  enough  ivory  there  he  exchanges  goods  which  he  has 
brought  for  the  purpose,  and  starts  for  the  return  journey  ; but,  as  a 
rule,  the  caravan  has  to  go  further,  and  by  the  information  he  re- 
ceives from  returning  caravans  the  conductor  judges  where  he  can 
go  with  most  chance  of  speedy  success. 

Large  quantities  of  ivory  are  usually  in  the  hands  of  native  chiefs, 
with  whom  it  is  a kind  of  treasure,  and  sometimes,  it  is  said,  the 
Arab  conductors,  who  are  accompanied  by  well-armed  escorts,  will 
make  war  on  a chief,  seize  his  ivory,  and  sell  his  people  into  slavery. 
If  force  cannot  be  used,  the  trader  must  patiently  purchase  small 
quantities  from  time  to  time  as  occasion  arises,  and  sometimes  he  is 
forced  to  wait  for  years  in  the  interior  before  he  can  part  with  all  his 
merchandise  and  obtain  his  loads  of  ivory.  The  greater  part  of  the 
ivory  arrives  in  Zanzibar  in  July  and  August ; the  Indian  merchants 
go  to  Bagamoyo  to  meet  their  conductors,  and  then  a settlement 
takes  place.  The  cost  of  the  caravan,  with  15  per  cent,  per  annum, 
is  charged  to  the  Arab,  the  Indian  takes  the  ivory,  sells  it  on  ac- 
count of  the  Arab  and  pays  the  latter  the  balance.  Arrived  in  Zanzi- 
bar, the  ivory  is  either  sent  by  the  Indian  merchants  direct  to  Bom- 
bay or  to  London,  or  it  is  sold  to  Hamburg  or  American  merchants 
on  the  spot. 


18 


GERMAN  ENTERPRISE. 


The  close  connection  between  the  ivory  and  the  slave  trade  in 
the  interior  must  always  act  as  a hindrance  to  Europeans  trading  at 
first  hand  in  ivory.  The  Arabs  usually  transport  the  ivory  to  the 
coast  by  means  of  natives  whom  they  have  enslaved  or  purchased 
at  very  low  prices,  and  then  can  sell  the  latter  on  the  coast  at  a profit 
of  ten  dollars  a head.  European  traders,  on  the  other  hand,  must 
pay  the  bearers  five  dollars  a month  and  an  arm’s  length  of  cotton 
stuff  per  day.  No  statistics  exist  respecting  the  annual  export  from 
Zanzibar,  but  for  ten  years  past  it  has  been  pretty  regular.  In  the 
past  thirty-five  years  the  price  has  trebled.  About  1840,  ivory  cost 
one  dollar  a pound  ; now  it  costs  three  dollars.  Large  tusks 
weighing  150  lbs.  to  190  lbs,  are  much  rarer  than  they  were  ten  years 
since,  and  the  number  of  smaller  tusks  has  greatly  increased.  Zanzibar 
ivory  stands  higher  in  the  market  than  that  from  Abyssinia,  Egypt, 
or  the  West  coast.  The  export  from  Mozambique  and  the  north 
and  south  Somali  coasts  is  comparatively  small. 

GERMAN  ENTERPRISE. 

Since  the  middle  of  1884,  Germany's  establishments  in  Africa 
have  made  much  progress.  It  already  has  under  its  dominions  three 
extensive  regions,  the  bonndaries  of  which  were  fixed  by  treaties 
concluded  with  England,  France,  and  Portugal.  On  the  west  coast 
the  Germans  possess  the  Cameroons,  giving  them  the  command  of 
the  most  direct  road  from  the  sea  toward  lake  Tchad  ; and  they  also 
hold  Namaqualand,  where  Herr  Luderhtz,  at  Angra  Pequena,  founded 
an  establishment.  The  future  of  the  latter  colony  is  not  so  promis- 
ing as  that  of  the  Cameroons,  but  it  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the 
Zambesi,  which  is  an  extensive  waterway.  The  principal  German 
colony  in  Africa  is  that  on  the  eastern  side,  which  extends  from  the 
coast  to  the  three  great  central  lakes— Tanganyika,  Nyassa  and 
Victoria  Nyanza — and  by  which  Germany  holds,  in  a political  sense, 
one-half  of  Central  Africa.  Intelligence  has  been  received  from  Zan- 
zibar that  the  Germans  are  about  to  establish  custom-houses  and  the 
seat  of  their  political  operations  on  the  east  coast  at  Dar-es-Salam, 
a port  which  promises  to  control  Zanzibar. 

The  German  East  African  Company  has  established  another  sta- 
tion— viz.,  at  Port  Durnford,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wubuschi  ; so  that 
it  now  possesses  the  following  stations:  1,  Usagarahaus,  Zanzibar, 
(officers  in  charge,  Hornecke  and  Rhule);  2,  Bagamoyo,  depot  for 
Usaramo  and  Usagara,  (von  Bulow  ;)  3,  Danda,  (Lieut  Krenzler);  4, 
Madimola,  (von  St.  Paul  and  Groke);  5,  Usaungula,  (von  Zelewski 
and  Graham);  6,  Sima  (Liedtke);  7,  Kiora  (v.  Wittich);  8,  Mbusini, 


GERMAN  ENTERPRISE. 


19 


<Hermes  and  Sager);  9,  Korogwe,  (Braun,  Brasche,  and  Zboril);  10, 
Kilesi,  (v.  Anderten,  Mariani,  and  Wood). 

The  spinning  and  weaving  firm  who  had  been  entrusted  by  the 
German  East  African  Company  with  the  testing  of  some  samples 
of  east  African  cotton,  have  issued  a report  in  which  they  say 
that  the  latter  proves  to  be  an  excellent  cotton,  and  is  likely  to 
make  a name  for  itself.  The  sample  is  of  a good,  but  rather  uneven- 
length,  and  shows  a beautiful,  strong,  silky  fibre,  rendering  it  an  ex- 
cellent spinning  material.  The  only  faults  noticable  were  the  unequal 
lengths  of  the  staple,  and  the  spottiness  of  the  color.  Both  these 
faults  could  be  easily  remedied  by  an  improved  cultivation  under  the 
direction  of  experienced  planters  from  other  cotton-growing  coun- 
tries. In  that  case  it  would  not  be  too  much  to  expect  that  the  cot- 
ton produced  by  Germany’s  east  African  colonies  will  soon  be  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  staple  products  of  the  international  market,  as 
with  these  faults  rectified  it  would  prove  quite  equal,  or  at  least  very 
little  inferior,  to  the  Egyptian  product. 

The  German  West  African  Company  has  purchased,  during  the 
short  time  that  it  has  existed,  goods  of  a total  value  of  ^5000  for 
the  west  African  trade.  About  100  German  firms  have  been  engaged 
in  the  delivery  of  these  goods,  which  are  reported  to  have  given  sat- 
isfaction to  the  dealers  and  natives  in  Africa.  The  total  inventory 
represents  a value  of  £9000,  including  ^4000  for  buildings,  slaughter- 
house apparatus,  machines,  tools,  freight  trucks,  draught  oxen, 
horses,  boats,  &c.  The  Company  employs  twenty  German  and  thirty 
native  officials,  and  various  others,  in  all  sixty-three.  The  number 
of  members  amounts  to  130.  Among  these  eighty  belong  to  the  in- 
dustrial class,  while  the  remaining  fifty  consist  of  officers,  civil  ser- 
vants, professors,  schoolmasters,  doctors,  and  gentlemen  of  private 
means.  Encouraged  by  the  success  which  has  attended  its  efforts, 
the  Company  intends  to  widen  its  operations  considerably.  A soap 
and  candle  factory  is  to  be  established,  and  a glue-boiling  works,  glue 
being  in  demand  in  west  Africa.  In  addition  to  this  fishing  is  to  be 
pursued  and  a guano  factory  established.  The  production  of  raw 
India  rubber  will  also  be  undertaken.  To  render  these  additional 
operations  possible  the  Company  proposes  to  raise  its  ground  capital 
by  about  ^10,000. 

The  representative  of  the  German  West  African  Company,  Baron 
von  Steinacker,  concluded  a treaty  on  the  6th  July  with  the  King  of 
Damaraland,  according  to  which  the  Company  obtained  unlimited 
trade  rights,  and  permission  to  settle  down  in  Damaraland,  to  estab- 
lish cattle  stations,  and  to  obtain  free  grants  of  land  suitable  to  their 


20 


THE  SLAVE  TRADE. 


needs.  The  treaty  has  been  officially  signed  by  Dr.  Goring,  the  Im- 
perial Commissioner. 

Under  the  title  of  “The  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  German 
Interests  in  South  Africa,”  a new  company  has  been  recently  called 
into  life  having  for  its  principal  object  the  formation  of  a central  sta- 
tion for  the  furtherance  of  German  interests  in  south  Africa.  The 
Company  will  place  itself  in  a position  to  gain  intimate  knowledge  of 
the  customs,  trade,  and  condition  of  the  country,  and  will  put  such 
information  at  the  disposal  of  all  interested  Germans.  It  will  also 
endeavor  to  strengthen  the  relations  between  Germany,  German 
colonies,  and  the  south  African  States,  and  will  give  unqualified 
support  to  the  endeavors  of  Germans  in  that  part  of  the  continent  to 
keep  alive  the  language,  manners,  and  customs  of  their  fatherland. 
Exploring  and  investigation  parties  will  be  occasionally  despatched 
to  the  most  important  agricultural  districts  of  south  Africa,  the  ex- 
penses connected  with  which  will  be  defrayed  by  the  Company,  pre- 
suming on  a certain  amount  of  Government  support,  and  everything 
possible  will  be  done  to  establish  the  relations  between  the  natives 
and  the  settlers  on  the  most  friendly  footing, 

THE  SLAVE  TRADE. 

An  English  Blue  book  has  been  published  containing  last  year's 
correspondence  on  the  slave  trade.  The  letters  are  grouped  under 
the  name  of  the  country  to  which  they  refer.  Eighteen  letters  deal 
with  Africa  (from  which  Egypt  is  excluded)  and  Arabia.  Several 
British  ships  were  on  the  east  coast  of  Africa  during  the  year,  and  a 
large  number  of  slave  vessels  were  caught  and  condemned,  and  tables 
appended  to  the  report  give  particulars  as  to  the  number  of  vessels 
and  the  number  and  condition  of  slaves  caught  by  Her  Majesty's 
ships.  To  this  part  belong  other  reports  as  to  the  slave  importation 
between  the  two  shores  of  the  Red  Sea  (under  the  heads  of  Turkey 
and  Italy)  and  as  to  Zanzibar.  Under  the  head  of  Egypt  are  given 
thirty-two  dispatches,  many  of  which  refer  to  the  capture  of  slave 
dhows  and  to  the  reception  of  fugitive  slaves  on  board  Brittish  ves- 
sels of  war.  Several  returns  are  added,  some  of  which,  by  Col. Schaefer, 
the  head  of  the  Department  for  the  Suppression  of  the  Slave  Trade, 
are  interesting.  Thus,  in  April,  1 8S6,  Colonel  Schaefer  states  that  in 
six  months  thirty-six  persons,  many  cf  them  professional  dealers, 
had  been  tried  by  court-martial  for  buying  or  selling  slaves;  of  these 
thirteen  were  condemned,  four  acquitted,  ten  were  still  under  judg- 
ment, and  nine  were  released  for  want  of  evidence.  The  report  as  to 
the  progress  of  the  Home  for  Women  Slaves  in  Cairo,  founded  by 


TEE  LIQUOR  TRAFFIC. 


21 


the  efforts  of  Mr.  Clifford  Lloyd  and  Mis.  Sheldon  Amos,  is  encour- 
aging. In  May,  1886,  170  women  had  been  received  into  the  Home, 
most  of  them  Negresses,  a few  Circassians,  and  a few  Abyssinians. 
According  to  another  report,  drawn  up  by  Colonel  Schaefer,  in  the 
twelve  months  previous  to  May,  1885  (that  is,  before  the  Slavery  De- 
partment took  over  the  working  of  the  Manumission  Bureaux),  the 
number  of  slaves  freed  in  Egypt  proper  amounted  to  1,032.  In  the 
following  year  that  number  increased  to  2,786,  of  whom  853  were  the 
property  of  Dongola  refugees.  In  1883  there  were  thirty-two  slave 
dealers  in  Cairo;  there  are  now  only  four  or  five,  and  they  only  act 
as  brokers.  The  attention  of  the  Government  having  been  called  to 
the  alleged  transit  of  slaves  through  the  Canal,  a strict  watch  was 
ordered  to  be  kept  at  Suez,  and  some  of  these  dispatches  relate  to 
the  liberation  of  slaves  at  that  port, 

THE  LIQUOR  TRAFFIC. 

Few  men  are  more  fitted  to  testify  concerning  the  extent  to 
which  liquor  trafficking  with  the  native  races  of  Africa  has  reached 
than  Mr.  James  Irvine,  of  Liverpool,  and  the  following  extract  from  a 
communication  from  him  speaks  volumes  : “It  is  very  difficult  to 

give  you  an  account  of  the  ramifications  of  the  drink  traffic  on  the 
west  coast  of  Africa,  not  because  there  is  little  to  be  said,  but  be- 
cause it  is  only  a repetition  of  the  oft-told  story  in  every  part  of  the 
world.  The  extent  of  the  trade  is  so  prodigious  that  I think  the  fol- 
lowing estimate  of  the  quantity  annually  poured  into  the  delta  of  the 
Niger  relieves  me  from  the  necessity  of  further  remark  concerning 
this  evil.  ...  I am  sure  I do  not  over-estimate  the  quantity  when  I 
put  it  down  at  60,000  hogsheads  of  50  gallons  each  as  the  annual 
consumption  in  the  rivers.”  Mr.  Joseph  Thomson,  the  eminent  Af- 
rican traveler,  recently  laid  before  the  members  of  the  Manchester 
Geographical  Society  his  views  upon  this  subject.  “ In  the  notorious 
gin  trade  lies  a greater  evil  than  slavery.  It  is,  indeed,  a scandal  and 
a shame.  . . . We  talk  of  civilizing  the  Negro  and  introducing  the 
blessings  of  European  trade,  while  at  the  same  time  we  pour  into  this 
unhappy  country  incredible  quantities  of  gin,  rum,  gunpowder  and 
guns.  . . . The  trade  in  spirits  is  simply  enormous.  The  appetite  for 
it  increases  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  desire  for  better  things;  and, 
to  our  shame  be  it  said,  we  are  ever  ready  to  supply  the  victims  to  the 
utmost,  driving  them  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  slough  of  depravity, 
while  at  home  we  talk  sanctimoniously  as  if  the  introduction  of  our 
trade  and  the  elevation  of  the  Negro  went  hand  in  hand.” 

It  is  well  known  that  there  are  millions  of  Africans  on  their  na- 
tive continent  who  never  drink  ardent  spirits  ; to  whom  they  are  re- 


22 


THE  LIQUOR  TRAFFIC. 


pulsive  as  a beverage.  It  is  only  on  the  coasts  where,  through  con- 
tact with  European  trade,  the  unhallowed  and  fatal  thirst  has  been 
created  that  the  African  is  fond  of  it.  Mungo  Park,  a hundred  years 
ago,  noticed  the  process  ot  demoralization  going  on  on  the  coast  and 
denounced  it  then  in  the  severest  terms.  Winwood  Reade,  the  trav- 
eler, affirms  that  200  miles  east  of  Sierra  Leone,  in  1869,  in  a purely 
pagan  district,  the  natives  were  strangers  to  the  poison,  and  on£  of 
them  who  had  a bo. tie  of  whisky  in  his  possession  showed  it  to  Mr. 
Reade  as  a sovereign  remedy  for  leprosy,  entirely  ignorant  of  its  de- 
moralizing uses.  The  native,  left  to  himself,  has  no  “ propensity  to 
strong  drink  to  be  pandered  to.”  His  weaknesses,  both  on  the  sub- 
ject of  drink  and  in  the  matter  of  the  slave  trade,  have  been  brought 
upon  him  by  the  insatiable  greed  of  the  foreign  trader. 

Before  dispatching  the  first  company  of  emigrants,  November  27, 
1833,  for  the  new  colony  of  ‘‘Maryland  in  Liberia,”  the  Maryland 
State  Colonization  Society  adopted  the  following  among  other  reso- 
lutions reported  by  a committee  of  which  Hon.  John  H.  B.  Latrobe 
was  chairman: — 

Whereas,  it  is  desired  that  the  settlement  about  to  be  made 
should,  as  far  as  practicable,  become  a moral  and  temperate  commu- 
nity, which  is  to  be  effected  in  a great  degree  by  the  character  of  the 
emigrants  who  many  leave  America  for  a new  home  in  Africa  : and 
Whereas,  the  sad  exp:rience  of  this  country  has  shown  the  demoraliz- 
ing effect  of  the  use  of  ardent  spirits;  be  it  Resolved,  that  no  emigrant 
shall  be  permitted  to  go  from  America  to  a settlement  of  the  Society 
in  Africa,  who  shall  not  first  bind  himself  or  herself  to  abstain  there- 
from.” 

' Fifth.  That  the  principle  of  abstaining  from  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits,  except  for  medicinal  purposes,  be  incorporated  into  the  local 
government  of  the  settlements  of  this  Society  in  Africa,  so  that  no 
person  shall  be  capable  of  holding  office  therein  who  shall  not  first 
pledge  himself  to  abstain  from  the  use  of,  or  traffic  in,  ardent  spirits, 
with  the  above  exception.” 

This  was  a bold  and  righteous  stand,  and  nobly  did  Dr.  James 
Hall,  the  Agent  appointed  to  carry  out  the  law,  abide  by  his  instruc- 
tions. For  three  hundred  years  the  natives  of  the  coast  had  been  de- 
moralized by  drink.  Slave  traders  had  been  accustomed  to  instruct 
their  agents  to  distribute  freely  rum,  gunpowder  and  fire-arms,  and 
it  was  thought  at  that  time  impossible,  as  it  is  now  thought  impossi- 
ble, to  enter  into  any  engagements,  commercial  or  political,  with  Af- 
rican tribes  without  the  use  of  ardent  spirits.  All  honor  to  the 
Maryland  State  Colonization  Society  and  to  Dr.  James  Hall,  their  firm 
and  unyielding  Agent,  that  they  set  an  example  which  ought  to 


THE  LIQUOR  TRAFFIC. 


23 


have  been  set  long  before  and  ought  now  to  be  followed  by  power- 
ful governments  in  their  dealings  with  the  natives  ! 

It  will  be  a serious  drawback  in  the  efforts  of  the  International 
Association  in  the  Congo  country  that  they  allow  ardent  spirits  to 
enter  as  a prominent  element  into  their  negotiations  with  the  natives. 
Mr.  Stanley  says  with  evident  emotion  : “ I beg  to  assure  you  that  if 

it  depended  on  me  I would  have  no  more  to  do  with  rum  than  with 
poison,  but  the  traders  have  so  supplied  the  people  with  it  that  with- 
out it  friendship  or  trade  is  impossible  on  the  Lower  Congo.  Our 
Kabindas,  the  people  who  will  be  left  in  charge  of  the  station,  will 
not  work  without  rum.  * * * * * * 

Every  visitor  to  our  camp  on  this  part  of  the  Congo,  if  he  has  a pal- 
aver with  us,  must  first  receive  a small  glass  of  rum  or  gin.  A chief 
receives  a bottleful,  which  he  distributes  teaspoonful  by  teaspoonful 
among  his  followers.  * * * * * I see 

by  the  returns  of  the  station  chief  that  we  consume  125  gallons  of 
rum  monthly  by  distributing  grog  rations,  and  native  demands  for  it 
in  lieu  of  a portion  of  their  wages.”  The  Congo  Free  State,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  158,  and  193. 

The  liquor  traffic  is  one  of  the  most  deadly  influences  in  Africa. 
The  Mohammedans  are  fighting  it  on  the  Niger.  It  is  not  likely  to 
permeate  the  countries  east  of  Sierra  Leone  and  Liberia.  When  it 
reaches  a certain  distance  from  the  coast  its  destructive  course  is  ar- 
rested by  the  vigilance  and  energy  of  Islam.  Liberia  is  doing  her 
part  also.  An  enthusiastic  Temperance  concert  was  held  at  Clay- 
Ashland  on  the  13th  of  April.  A gill  of  spirits  cannot  be  bought  in 
that  settlement.  The  Arthington  people  have  extinguished  the  trade 
in  their  town  and  neighborhood.  If  Colonization — the  only  agency- 
able  to  do  it — will  scatter  settlements  like  Clay-Ashland  and  Arthing- 
ton in  the  interior,  they  would  be  efficient  and  welcome  auxiliaries  to 
the  Mohammedans.  Isolated  missionaries  are  followed  by  the  rum- 
seller:  and  they  are  helpless  to  check  his  contemptious  proceedings. 
What  purely  mission  station  could  make  such  a law  as  Arthington 
has  made  and  enforce  it  ? 

With  the  work  of  African  regeneration  no  agency  is  so  compe- 
tent to  deal  as  the  American  Colonization  Society.  The  American 
Negro  furnishing  the  industrial  element  in  organized  communities 
will  gradually  open  to  the  natives  a path  to  higher  destinies  and  they 
will  be  gradually,  but  effectually  converted,  not  as  individuals  but  as 
communities. 


24 


MISSIONS. 


MISSIONS. 

The  British  and  American  Missionary  Societies  operating  in 
Africa,  with  the  statistics'of  their  work,  are  given  in  the  following 
table  : 


British  Societies. 

Church 

Universities’  Missions 

Society  for  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,.. 

London 

United  Free  Methodist, 

Primitive  Methodist, 

Church  of  Scotland, 

Free  Church  of  Scotland, 

Baptists, 

Wesleyan  Methodists, 

United  Presbyterian  Ch.  of  Scotland, 

Moravians, 

Friends, 

Bible  Society, 


American  Societies. 


American  Board, 

Baptist  Missionary  Union, 

Presbyterian, 

Southern  Baptist 

United  Brethren 

Protestant  Episcopal, . 

African  Methodist 

Methodist  Episcopal, 

Bishop  Taylor’s  Missions,. 

Lutheran, 

Free  Methodist, 

United  Presbyterian 

Western  Colored  Baptist,. 


Missionaries. 

NAT.  PAS- 
TORS AND 
HELPERS. 

COMMUNI- 

CANTS. 

OKD. 

LAY. 

WOMtN. 

1 7 

12 

4 

277 

4,164 

26 

23 

14 

122 

12 

218 

5.34i 

48 

I 

6,052 

IO 

233 

2 

14 

3,035 

2 

s 

I 

181 

is 

15 

9 

138 

20 

s 

8,280 

33 

3° 

1,427 

17 

2 

9 

69 

15,107 

58 

336 

2,073 

. • 

7 

20 

2,828 

6 

3,500 

17 

25 

866 

12 

I 

7 

II 

429 

9 

2 

12 

22 

868 

6 

5 

3 

8 

125 

4 

5 

S3 

3,929 

2 

I 

42 

540 

I 

I 

76 

2,490 

II 

22 

l6 

I 

I 

I 

81 

4 

4 

9 

I 

l6 

219 

1,843 

I 

I 

I 

.... 

In  North  Africa,  missions  are  located  in  Morocco,  Algiers,  Tunis, 
Abyssinia,  and  Egypt.  One  of  the  most  flourishing  of  all  the  mis- 
sions in  this  region  is  that  of  the  American  United  Presbyterian 
Church  . It  has  occupied  the  field  more  than  thirty  years,  and  has 
many  centres  and  a large  native  as  well  as  American  agency  em- 
ployed. Most  of  the  stations  are  on  the  Nile,  south  of  Cairo,  with 
sixty-five  schools,  and  five  thousand  four  hundred  ahd  fourteen  schol- 
ars. Fifty- seven  of  these  schools  are  supported  by  the  fees  of  the 
native  congregations.  The  converts  are  mostly  from  among:  the 
Copts. 

In  East  and  East  Central  Africa,  mission  work  has  been  carried 
on  at  great  expense  of  money  and  life.  It  was  in  this  region  that 


MISSIONS. 


25 


Bishop  Hannington  fell,  and  here  also  the  native  Christians,  under 
Mwanga’s  rule,  proved  themselves  faithful  until  death. 

In  south  Africa,  mission  work  has  been  done  among  the  Caf- 
frarians,  the  Zulus,  the  Basutos,  and  other  tribes.  In  the  vicinity  of 
the  European  colonies,  the  natives  have  been  brought  to  some  ex- 
tent under  the  influence  of  Christian  civilization.  The  Free 
Church  of  Scotland  has  an  important  school  at  Lovedale,  about 
seven  hundred  miles  northeast  of  Cape  Town.  Besides  the  literary 
and  theological  course,  various  trades  arc  taught  — carpentering, 
printing,  book-binding,  wagon-making,  tailoring,  etc. 

On  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  the  American  Presbyterian  mis- 
sion has  been  harrassed  and  impeded  by  the  French  authorities,  and 
the  statement  is  published  that  the  work  will  probably  be  transferred 
to  some  other  point.  The  English  and  American  Baptists  have  been 
doing  valuable  work  on  the  Congo,  and  lately  an  account  was  given 
of  a very  remarkable  work  of  grace  in  connection  with  this  mission, 
which  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  over  a thousand  of  the  natives. 
On  the  river  Niger  the  Church  Missionary  Society  of  England  estab- 
lished a mission  thirty  years  ago,  under  the  leadership  of  the  well- 
known  African  Bishop  Crowther. 

Rev.  H.  H Messenger,  formerly  a missionary  of  the  American 
Episcopal  Church  to  Liberia,  writes  : “On  reading  Bishop  Fergu- 
son’s account  of  his  reception  at  Cape  Palmas  on  his  return  as  Bishop, 
a realizing  sense  of  God’s  mercy  and  goodness  filled  my  heart  with 
thankfulness.  Twenty  six  years  ago,  three  married  couples  of  us 
passed  through  the  same  place;  the  orphan  girls  of  the  school  com- 
ing down  on  the  rocks  and  singing  for  us;  the  big  waves  soon  after 
rolling  heavily  in,  making  us  catch  our  breath  as  they  lifted  the  boat 
and  rushed  us  forward  at  nearly  railroad  speed.  We  were  strangers, 
and  of  a different  race,  yet  received  by  friends  because  of  the  Name 
of  Jesus.  Now  what  do  we  behold  ? One  of  their  own  number,  ex- 
alted to  the  highest  position  in  the  Church  of  God,  goes  back  to  them 
to  be  their  guide  in  spiritual  matters.  He  was  but  a boy  in  school 
when  I was  there,  remembered  ever  since  as  very  apt  and  ready  at 
the  examinations  which  we  attended,  under  the  faithful  drilling  of 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Crummell,  All  the  white  missionaries  composing 
our  force  then,  have  long  since  ceased  their  labors  there;  some  lying 
in  the  graveyards  in  Africa;  some  in  graves  in  America;  a few  yet 
alive  in  hoary  age.  But  the  work  goes  on,  now  more  certain  to  be 
permanent,  doubtless,  than  before;  for  instead  of  an  alien  here  and 
there  striving  against  the  dangers  of  the  climate  and  doing  what  he 
could  to  create  a light  in  the  darkness  for  a lew  years,  and  then  sue- 


26 


MISSIONS. 


Climbing  to  disease,  and  dying  or  forced  to  leave  the  mission  ; now 
men  of  the  same  race,  able  to  bear  the  climate,  having  their  families 
and  all  their  interest  there  to  'stay.  All  this  promises  permanence 
in  the  work,” 

Bishop  Taylor  has  determined  to  use  Liberia  with  its  settled 
communities  of  Christian  Africans,  with  its  organized  government, 
recognized  by  the  nations,  its  industrial  and  educational  appliances, 
and  its  social  regulations,  as  a base  and  support  of  his  operations. 
He  has  arranged  for  opening  a dozen  industrial  schools,  the  kings 
and  chiefs  of  each  tribe  visited  agreeing  to  plant  and  attend  to  the 
first  crops  of  food  required  by  the  mission,  and  to  furnish  sites  for 
buildings,  and  all  the  land  required  for  farming  and  grazing  purposes; 
and  to  build  cook-houses,  school- houses,  and  mission  houses;  while 
the  Bishop  agrees  to  provide  teachers,  preachers,  and  all  other  things 
necessary  to  put  the  missions  upon  a self-supporting  basis.  Five  of 
these  new  stations  on  the  Cavalla  river,  which  enters  the  ocean  near 
Cape  Palmas,  are  the  business  centers  of  inland  tribes  from  which 
thousands  of  people  can  be  reached.  This  river,  navigable  by 
steamboats,  is  reported  by  the  Bishop  as  having  high  banks  and  hills 
as  healthy  as  those  of  our  own  Hudson. 

Congo  Land  now  has  also  its  Roman  Catholic  Bishop;  the  Arch- 
Bishop  of  Paris  having  consecrated  the  missionary  priest  Corrie,  in 
conformity  to  an  order  from  the  Pope,  Bishop  of  Congo  Land. 
Monsignor  Corrie  is  almost  forty  years  old,  and  is  described  as 
an  uncommonly  active  and  energetic  missionary,  who  knows  how  to 
put  his  hands  to  everything,  and  in  the  latest  field  of  his  operations  was 
school-master,  engineer,  and  all  in  all  as  a pioneer  of  civilization.  A 
few  months  ago  he  founded  a mission  station  nearly  200  miles  above 
Stanley  Pool.  The  new  apostolic  vicar  will  be  accompanied  by  about 
forty  co-workers  and  several  of  the  sisters  of  Saint  Joseph,  who  will 
open  schools  for  toys  and  girls,  and  will  teach  the  women  the  handi- 
work of  civilization.  The  future  episcopal  seat  will  be  in  Loango. 

The  Bible  has  been  translated  into  sixty-six  of  the  languages  of 
Africa.  The  Semitic  family  has  10  distinct  languages  and  9 dialects  ; 
the  Hamitic,  29  languages  and  27  dialects;  the  Nuba-Fulah,  17  lang- 
uages and  7 dialects;  the  Negro,  195  languages  and  49  dialects;  the 
Bantu,  163  languages  and  55  dialects;  and  the  Hottentot-Bushman, 
14  languages  and  6 dialects — the  six  families  having  438  languages 
and  153  dialects,  a total  of  591.  It  may  lead  to  a better  understand- 
ing if  it  is  stated  that,  of  these  families  or  groups,  the  Semitic,  the 
Nuba-Fulah  and  the  Bantu  have  each  two  branches,  the  Hamitic  and 
Hottentot-Bushman  three  and  the  Negro  four.  Of  these  languages — 


MISSIONS. 


2T 


of  which  it  is  impossible  to  gvie  the  names — the  Bible,  in  whole  or  in 
part,  has  been  translated  into  sixty-six.  The  following  have  the  en- 
tire Bible  : The  Arabic,  Amharic,  Koptic,  Ashantee,  Akva,  Yoruba, 
Efik,  Zulu,  Kaffir,  Sesuto  and  Sechuana — the  American  Bible  Socie- 
ty publishing  the  Arabic  and  the  Zulu  translations,  and  the  - Scotch 
Bible  Society  the  Elik,  while  the  Koptic  translation  is  still  in  manu- 
script, and  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  publish  the  remain- 
ing seven.  As  experiences  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa  and  the  his- 
tory of  the  English  and  of  Luther’s  Bible  indicate  that  when  the  lang- 
uage of  a country  is  in  a state  of  transition  it  will  gravitate  around  a 
translation  of  the  scriptures,  it  seems  reasonably  certain  that  consid- 
erably less  than  ioo  translations  will  meet  the  wants  of  the  entire 
Airican  Continent. 

The  colonial  enterprizes  of  France  and  Germany  have  awakened 
a general  interest  in  Africa n Missionary  labors  among  the  citizens 
of  the  French  Republic  and  of  the  German  Empire.  The  sixty-first 
annual  report  of  the  Evangelical  Missionary  Society  of  Paris 
gives  particulars  of  its  work  for  1885-86.  Its  mission  are  five  in 
number,  and  are  established  In  South  Africa  and  upon  the  river 
Zambezi,  in  Tahiti,  in  Senegal,  and  in  Algiers.  The  number  of 
French  missionaries,  not  including  wives  and  lady  assistants,  is  thir- 
ty-four. The  total  money  receipts  for  the  year  were  320,000  francs- 
The  South  African  Mission  among  the  Basutos,  west  of  Natal,  is  the 
largest,  reporting  sixteen  stations  and  twenty-thiee  French  mission- 
aries, with  forty-four  out-stations,  manned  by  142  native  helpers. 
The  Society  has  decided  to  begin  a mission  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Congo,  where  the  French  possess  about  300  miles  of  country, 
In  conjunction  with  Christian  teaching,  the  Society  hopes  to  add 
something  to  the  scientific  knowledge  of  Africa,  and  to  this  end 
the  “French  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science”  has 
granted  it  a subvention. 

In  Germany,  a number  of  new  Missions  in  Africa  have  been  com- 
menced. The  Basle  Missionary  Society  has  sent  five  laborers  to  the 
Cameroons,  where  the  English  Baptists  have  committed  their  work 
to  the  Baselers,  and  removed  to  the  Congo.  In  New  Guinea,  in  King 
William’s  Land,  the  Rhine  Missionary  Society,  the  Neuendettelsauer 
Missionary  Society,  and  the  Allgemeine  Evangelical  Protestantische 
Missions-Verein,  have  either  .already  commenced,  or  purpose  to 
commence  missionary  work  in  the  new  German  domain.  A new 
Lutheran  Missionary  Society  in  Bavaria,  one  in  Berlin,  and  a third 
one,  the  Neukirchner  Missionary  Society,  are  making  preparations  to 
do  mission  work  in  East  Africa.  The  East  African  Missionary  Society 


28 


MOHAMMEDANISM 


has  been  formed  in  Berlin,  for  operations  in  the  German  dominions 
in  southern  Equatorial  Africa  and  Somali-land,  having  in  mind  both 
the  German  settlers  and  the  native  populations.  A well-known 
missionary,  Mr.  Greiner,  late  of  the  Saint  Chrischona  Mission,  led 
the  first  party. 

MOHAMMEDANISM. 

Under  the  title  of  “ Mohammedanism  in  Central  Africa,”  a late 
number  of  The  Contemporary  Review  has  a striking  article  by  Mr. 
Joseph  Thompson,  well  known  as  an  explorer  in  Africa,  especially 
on  the  eastern  coast.  Mr.  Thomson  states  that  when  he  visited  the 
Soudan  he  found  a people  not  contaminated  by  contact  with  Euro- 
peans; not  corrupted  by  the  vile  liquors  which  had  been  brought 
from  Europe  or  America,  but  living  sober  and  industrious  lives  and 
far  advanced  on  the  road  to  civilization.  In  the  villages,  as  well  as 
the  larger  towns  of  the  Soudan,  he  found  men  who  could  read  and 
write  in  Arabic,  and  there  were  some  who,  not  content  with  the  edu- 
cation they  could  find  at  home,  had  become  students  at  the  Moham- 
medan University  in  Cairo.  Simply  aa  a result  of  the  introduction 
of  Mohammedanism,  as  he  affirms,  these  various  tribes  had  become 
welded  together  ; the  people  had  abandoned  their  fetiches  and  their 
idolatrous  worship,  and  were  calling,  in  prayer,  upon  one  God,  whose 
power  and  love  they  acknowledged.  Mr.  Thomson  affirms  that  the 
condition  of  these  Soudanese  people  was  vastly  superior  to  that  of 
any  African  tribes  he  had  seen,  and  he  is  forced  to  the  conclusion 
that  their  better  condition  is  the  result  of  the  Moslem  faith  which 
they  have  received.  Of  course  our  writer  does  not  apologize  for  the 
crimes  that  are  committed  in  the  name  of  Mohammedanism,  but  he 
affirms  that  these  crimes  should  be  no  more  charged  to  their  faith 
than  should  the  corruption  in  Christian  or  nominally  Christian  lands 
be  ascribed  to  the  teachings  of  our  Saviour. 

This  report  of  a careful  observer  is  certainly  surprising.  We 
have  not  been  accustomed  to  look  for  good  results  from  that  quarter. 
Still  it  is  not  difficult  to  see  that  monotheism  in  its  effect  upon  any 
community  must  be  vastly  better  than  polytheism,  and  that  a religion 
that  calls  for  the  worship  of  an  unseen  God,  the  Maker  of  all  things, 
is  more  elevating  than  one  that  peoples  the  world  with  fetiches  to  be 
worshiped  with  degrading  rites.  Since  the  rules  of  Islam  are  rigidly 
in  favor  of  abstinence  from  strong  drink,  it  should  be  expected  that 
wherever  that  faith  had  gained  sufficient  power  over  the  natives  to 
ifiduce  them  to  abstain  from  their  own  pombe  and  to  reject  the  worse 
rum  and  gin  o?  the  foreigner,  there  would  be  a vast  decrease  of  cru- 
elty and  crime  and  a reinvigoration  of  the  better  elements  of  human 
nature. 


MOHAMMEDANISM. 


29 


In  a neat  volume  of  423  pages,  published  by  Messrs,  W.  B.  Whit- 
tingham  & Co.,  London,  appears  fifteen  of  the  excellent  papers  con- 
tributed at  several  times  to  English  and  American  magazines  by  the 
eminent  Negro  scholar,  Dr.  Edward  W.  Blyden.  The  learned  author 
has,  by  many  years  of  close  observation  in  both  hemispheres,  and 
careful  study  of  the  characteristic  features  of  his  race,  succeeded  in 
securing  the  enviable  and  unique  position  of  one  competent  to  assert 
with  authority,  views  touching  the  present  and  future  prospects  of 
the  millions  of  Negroes  on  the  African  Continent.  Tne  author’s  vast 
erudition  and  wide  experience  are  sufficient  guarantees  that  in  this 
book  will  be  found  questions  of  vital  interest  to  every  thoughtful 
Negro — questions  handled  in  so  masterly  a manner,  and  so  elabor- 
ately treated,  that  the  perusal  of  its  pages  will  undoubtedly  afford 
unlimited  pleasure  and  untold  benefit  to  the  careful  reader. 

The  three  leading  subjects  discussed  form  the  title  of  the  book  : 
“Christianity,  Islam-,  and  the  Negro  Race,”  the  last  of  which  occu- 
pies a conspicuous  part  in  every  art:cle  treated,  evidencing  thereby 
that  one  of  Dr.  Biyden’s  points  was  to  view  the  relative  position  of  his 
race  to  every  great  question.  In  one  of  the  author's  articles  occurs 
the  following  passage  : “Christianity  is  not  only  not  a local  religion, 
but  ic  has  adapted  itself  to  the  people  wherever  it  has  gone.  No 
language  or’social  existence  has  been  any  barrier  to  it,  and  I have 
thought  that  in  this  country  it  will  acquire  wider  power,  deeper  in- 
fluence, and  become  instinct  with  a higher  vitality  than  anywhere 
else.  When  we  look  at  the  treatment  which  our  own  race,  and  other 
so-called  inferior  races  have  received  from  Christian  races,  we  can- 
not but  be  struck  with  the  amazing  dissimilitude  and  disproportion 
between  the  original  idea  of  Christianii}',  as  expressed  by  Christ,  and 
the  practice  of  it  by  his  professed  followers.” 

The  author  is  not  only  a student  of  books  but  a student  of  men 
as  well.  For  years  he  has  been  studying  the  character  of  the  Negro 
in  various  lights,  those  brought  in  contact  with  western  civilization 
as  well  as  those  in  the  heart  of  their  native  continent.  In  the  expe- 
ditions which  he  led  into  the  interior,  and  by  which  he  was  brought 
into  personal  acquaintance  with  thousands  of  pure  Negroes  who  had 
never  approached  the  coast,  he  saw  a great  deal  to  admire,  which 
furnished  matter  for  thought  and  careful  consideration.  If  he  has 
written  favorably  of  Mohammedan  Negroes  it  is  because  he  was  im- 
pressed with  the  manliness,  true  nobility,  and  earnest  devotion  of  the 
thousands  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  in  Nigritia,  and  whom  he 
could  not  desciibe  apart  from  their  religious  belief.  The  author  looks 
forward  to  the  time  when  the  millions  of  Muslims  the  world  over  will 


so 


MOHAMMEDANISM. 


acknowledge  the  sovereignty  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  and  when  there 
will  be  “one  fold  and  one  shepherd.” 

Turning  from  the  title  page  our  attention  is  drawn  to  the  Pre- 
face, and  in  the  first  paragraph  the  author  states  the  reason  which 
led  to  the  publication  of  the  book.  He  writes:  “The  Colonial  and 
Indian  Exhibition  of  1886,  which  has  brought  together,  in  London, 
men  of  all  races  and  climes,  and  of  almost  every  degree  of  civilization 
has  been  the  immediate  occasion — not  the  cause — ot  the  publication 
of  this  volume.”  * * * “ Much  has  been  written  about  Africa 

and  the  African.  The  character,  position,  and  destiny  of  the  Negro 
race,  have  been  discussed  by  Europeans  of  every  nationality.  Trav- 
elers from  all  parts  of  tne  civilized  world  have  visited  the  country 
and  have  furnished  facts— or  what  seemed  to  be  facts — for  brilliant 
essayists  and  incisive  critics.  But  very  little  has  been  written  by  the 
African  himself  of  his  country  and  people,  very  little — that  is,  which 
has  attracted  the  attention  of  the  higher  class  of  readers  in  Enrope 
and  America.” 

In  the  third  article  in  the  book  on  “ Christian  Missions  in  West 
Africa,”  occurs  the  subjoined  passage:  “The  attempt  to  European- 

ize the  Negro  in  Africa  will  always  be  a profitless  task.  This  is  the 
feeling  of  the  most  advanced  minds  of  the  race.  If  it  were  possible — 
which,  happily,  it  is  not — to  civilize  and  Christianize  the  whole  of 
Africa  according  to  the  notions  of  some  Europeans,  neither  would 
the  people  themselves  nor  the  outside  would  be  any  great  gainers  by 
it,  for  the  African  would  then  fail  of  the  ability  to  perform  his  specific 
part  in  the  world’s  work,  as  a distinct  portion  of  the  human  race.  * * 
There  is  a solidarity  of  humanity  which  requires  the  complete  devel- 
opment of  each  part  in  order  to  the  effective  working  of  the  whole. 
To  make  the  African  a parasite  upon  the  European  would  be  no  gain 
to  mankind.  The  problem,  it  appears  to  us,  which  the  imagination, 
the  wisdom,  and  the  Christian  charity  of  the  missionary  world  has  to 
solve  is,  how  to  elevate  the  African,  or  enable  him  to  elevate  himself, 
according  to  the  true  Chiistian  standard,  upon  the  basis  of  his  own 
idiosyncracies.  Any  progress  made  otherwise  must  be  unreal,  un- 
satisfactory, precarious,  transitory.” 

The  author  closes  the  fourth  article,  “ The  Aims  and  Methods 
of  a Liberal  Education  for  the  African,”  in  the  following  words: — 
“ We  have  a great  work  before  us,  a work  unique  in  the  history  of 
the  world,  which  others  who  appreciate  its  vastness  and  import- 
ance. envy  us  the  privilege  of  doing.  . . . Let  us  show  ourselves 

equal  to  the  task.  The  time  is  past  when  we  can  be  content  with 
putting  forth  elaborate  arguments  to  prove  our  equality  with  foreign 


LIBERIA. 


31 


races.  Those  who  doubt  our  capacity  are  more  likely  to  be  con- 
vinced of  their  error  by  the  exhibition,  o.i  our  part,  of  those  qualities 
of  energy  and  enterprise  which  will  enable  us  to  occupy  the  extensive 
field  before  us  for  our  own  advantage  and  the  advantage  of  humani- 
ty— for  the  purpose  of  civilization,  of  science,  and  of  progress  gener- 
ally— than  by  any  mere  abstract  argument  about  the  equality  of  races. 
The  suspicions  disparaging  to  us  will  be  dissipated  only  by  the  exhi- 
bition of  the  indisputable  realities  of  a lofty  manhood  as  they  may  be 
illustrated  in  successful  efforts  to  build  up  a nation,  to  wrest  from 
nature  her  secrets,  to  lead  the  van  of  progress,  and  to  regenerate  a 
continent.” 

Our  space  does  not  permit  us  to  enumerate  other  articles  in  the 
book,  but  each  one  is  of  peculiar  interest.  No  intelligent  Negro 
should  be  without  a copy — not  so  much  as  a souvenir  ot  the  author’s 
researches  and  labors,  but  as  a vade-mecum  on  questions  having  ref- 
erence to  the  vitality  of  the  race.  Dr.  Blyden,  by  these  excellent 
articles,  has  laid  his  race  under  great  obligations,  whether  on  the 
American  or  African  Continent. 

LIBERIA. 

Rev.  G.  W.  Gibson  writes  from  Monrovia,  August  3: — “Matters 
are  moving  on  about  as  usual  here  at  this  time  of  the  year.  It  being 
the  rainy  season  trade  is  dull,  but  we  are  more  than  repaid  in  the  ac- 
tivity and  progress  which  mark  our  agricultural  pursuits.  The  far- 
mers are  btsily  engaged  in  cleaning  out  and  extending  their  sugar 
and  coffee  plantations,  as  well  as  in  raising  larger  quantities  of  rice, 
potatoes,  eddoes,  etc.,  for  home  consumption.  The  rise  in  the  price 
of  coffee  this  year  has  encouraged  the  planters  very  much  indeed.” 

The  Mayor  of  Monrovia  states: — “The  late  rise  in  the  price  of 
coffee,  and  the  demand  for  it,  have  stimulated  our  farmers  to  renewed 
exertion,  and  they  are  enlarging  the  area  of  its  cultivation.  Send 
us  hard-working  farmers,  and  give  us  good,  plain  schools,  and  Libe- 
ria’s prosperity  and  success  will  be  greatly  hastened.” 

A dispatch  of  Consul  General  Lewis,  at  Sierra  Leone,  published 
in  the  United  States  Consular  Reports,  says  : — “ The  country  [Libe- 
ria] seems  particularly  adapted  to  the  successful  raising  of  coffee,  and 
this  Liberian  coffee  has,  within  the  last  two  years,  acquired,  I believe- 
a reputation  very  high.  The  immigrants  from  the  United  States, 
especially  in  recent  years,  have  devoted  more  attention  to  its  culti- 
vation. They  are  pushing  their  settlements  towards  the  interior  and 
enlarging  their  farms.  Some  of  the  Liberian  farmers  and  merchants 
have  made  money,  and  live  in  comfortable  and  even  elegant  style.  In 


32 


LIBERIA. 


the  month  of  July  last  four  Liberian  merchants,  from  different  parts 
of  the  Republic,  passed  here  [Sierra  LeoneJ  on  board  the  English 
mail  steamer  on  their  way  to  Europe  for  business  or  pleasure.  They 
were  all  colored  men,  born  in  the  United  States,  and  emigrated  to 
Liberia  as  children.’ 

A letter  from  Dr.  Edward  W.  Blyden  reads: — “The  Baptists  are 
doing  more  in  a self-supporting  way  for  missionary  work  in  Liberia 
than  any  other  denomination.  They  have  established  at  Sublung_ 
about  twenty  miles  from  Monrovia,  a flourishing  mission.  This 
church  has  just  been  completed  and  will  soon  be  dedicated,  and  they 
have  founded  the  Rick's  Institute,  at  the  same  town,  for  the  educa- 
tion of  native  youth.  The  school  has  been  named  after  Mr.  Moses  W. 
Ricks,  a thriving  farmer  in  Clav-Ashland,  who  has  given  $500  in  cash 
towards  the  endowment  of  the  school.  Mr.  Ricks  is  a pure  Negro 
sent  to  Liberia,  an  emancipated  slave,  by  the  American  Coionization 
Sociely,  about  thirty-three  years  ago.  Arthington  not  only  holds  its 
own  but  is  progressing.  Messrs.  Solomon  Hi  1 and  June  Moore  will 
produce  this  season  10,000  pounds  of  coffee,  besides  large  quantities 
of  ginger  and  other  articles  for  domestic  use.  The  settlement  will 
produce  100,000  pounds  of  coffee  this  season.  The  religious  work  is 
interesting.  Sixty-six  natives  have  been  received  into  the  Baptist 
church,  and  the  schools  contain  many  native  children.” 

Bishop  Ferguson  reports: — “ Clay-  Ashland  Station.  The  Rev.  J. 
W.  Blacklidge  has  commenced  a good  work  here.  Through  the 
generosity  of  a few  of  the  enterprising  citizens  of  the  settlement  he 
has  built  a school-house,  which  serves  also  as  a chapel.  One  of  the 
gentlemen — the  Hon.  Mr.  Coleman — offers  to  give  $r5°  tor  the  first 
year  and  $50  per  annum  afterward  toward  the  salary  of  a competent 
female  teacher,  who  shall  be  able,  among  other  things,  to  give  in- 
struction in  music.  As  such  an  offer  should  not  pass  unheeded,  I 
hope  soon  to  be  in  a position  to  take  it  up.” 

A prominent  divine  in  Ohio  makes  an  important  suggestion  in 
the  following  language  : — “ With  all  the  discussion  going  on  through- 
out the  country  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  surplus  in  the  United  States 
Treasury,  what  a pity  that  legislators  of  all  names  could  not  unite  in 
giving  some  of  it  to  the  American  Colonization  Society.  Wh2t  an 
immense  amount  of  good  one  million  of  dollars  would  do ! How 
much  more  one  million  of  dollars  a year  until  the  superfluous  funds, 
which  neither  party  knows  what  to  do  with,  is  drawn  out  and  put  to 
valuable  use.  If  our  politicians  could  only  think  of  something  else 
than  what  promotes  party  ends  or  personal  advantage  ! There  seems 
to  be  no  constitutional  difficulty  in  sending  men  and  using  money'  for 


INDICATIONS. 


33 


Arctic  explorations,  and  many  other  enterprizes  of  questionable  utility. 
Why  not  think  of  the  incalculable  advantages  to  commerce,  to  reli- 
gion, to  civilization,  which  the  Colonization  Society  could  effect  by 
funds  ?” 

There  are  several  reasons  why  the  relations  of  the  United  States 
and  Liberia  should  be  closer  and  kinder  than  such  as  ordinarily  exist 
between  two  independent  nations. 

First.  Liberia  had  its  origin,  as  its  history  shows,  in  the  philan- 
thropic sentiments  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  although  ad- 
vocated subsequently,  no  doubt,  from  mixed  motives,  has  never  lost 
the  character  given  to  it  by  its  earliest  promoters. 

Second.  The  first  attempts  to  plant  the  colony  might  have  proved 
disastrous  failures  had  the  United  States  Government- — Mr.  Monroe 
then  the  President — not  made  the  American  Colonization  Society 
incidentally  the  beneficiary  of  the  fund  appropriated  by  Congress  in 
connection  with  recaptured  Africans,  who  were  landed  and  supported 
there.  To  a very  great  extent,  therefore,  Liberia  may  be  said  to  owe 
its  very  existence  to  this  Government — not  to  oar  people,  but  to  their 
Government. 

Third.  When  Minister  Fox,  in  his  correspondence  with  Secre- 
tary Upshur,  desired  to  know  whether  the  United  States  were  re- 
sponsible for  the  acts  of  Liberia,  Mr.  Upshur  took  occasion  to  speak 
of  the  latter  as  the  home  of  a people  going  out  from  the  United 
States  under  circumstances  which  gave  to  it  a peculiar  claim  to  the 
sympathy  and  good  feeling  of  this  country. 

Fourth.  Not  one  of  the  nations  whose  agents  and  citizens  are 
now  engaged  in  the  exploration  of  Africa  with  a view  to  the  opening 
up  of  new  markets  for  the  surplus  of  manufacturing  civilization,  has 
a deeper  commercial  interest  in  this  development  than  the  United 
States,  which  has,  through  Liberia,  an  access  to  the  interior  of  Af- 
rica not  surpassed  anywhere. 

Fifth.  There  are  no  people  better  fitted  than  the  Liberians  to 
make  this  access  available  to  us  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  They 
are  of  us;  they  know  our  ways  ; our  language  is  common;  they  be- 
long to  the  native  race;  all  of  which  things  are  advantages  peculiar  to 
them. 

Sixth.  The  attention  of  the  colored  people  of  the  United  States 
is  gradually  buc  slowly  awakening  to  the  idea  that  thiscountry  affords 
no  field  for  honorable  ambition  aiming  at  high  political  distinction. 

INDICATIONS. 

The  wonderful  Providence  of  God,  which  is  now  directing  to 
Africa  the  attention  of  the  civilized  world  ; which  raised  for  its  dis- 


34 


INDICATIONS. 


covery  a Livingstone  and  a Stanley,  and  then  provided  for  it  from 
among  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe  a right  royal  benefactor,  Leo- 
pold of  Belgium  ; this  marked  and  complex  Providence  indicates 
clearly  enough  that  the  appointed  time  to  enlighten  the  “Dark  Con- 
tinent” has  come  at  last,  and  that  ours  are  the  days  in  which  Ethio- 
pia shall  stretch  forth  her  hands  to  God.  What  else  is  tne  meaning 
of  the  fact  that  the  opening  of  Africa  follows  so  closely  on  the  liber- 
ation of  the  Negroes  in  the  United  States  ? The  yoke  of  bondage  was 
broken  from  millions  of  Africa’s  Christian  sons  and  daughters  in  one 
continent,  and  then  a pathway  from  the  West  was  opened  into  an- 
other continent,  the  benighted  home  of  these  very  people,  as  if  to 
invite  them  to  civilize  and  evangelize  the  land  of  their  forefathers. 


